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iliketangerines · 6 months ago

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hello! I wasn’t sure if request were open or closed but I am here to make one!

I was wondering if you you were able to make headcanons about bi Han x reader (gn) where the reader is like aerith gainsborough from ff7 just really sweet, caring and gentle with him and everyone.

could be could be nsfw or sfw, perhaps both overall really up to you! feel free to ignore / change!

to long for you

a/n: i've never played final fantasy 7, so you're just gonna have to deal with that...

pairing: bi han x gn!reader

warnings: none :)

oh, you were so sweet, so soft, and loving when Bi Han had first met you at one of Liu Kang’s meetings, sitting beside him looking almost ethereal

you were one of the god’s personal initiates at the Fire Gardens, and yet you had none of the traits of a monk, dressed in almost regal looking clothing and hair tied elegantly into a ponytail

and you glanced at him with those doe-eyes and gave him that sweet smile as Liu Kang droned on about some disturbances on Earthrealm

despite your soft-looking demeanor, you were firm, adding in your opinions to Liu Kang’s plans and disagreeing with him on certain plans

and then later, sitting in front of the Lin Kuei grounds, you watch the initiates train and Bi Han and his brothers correcting forms and basic fighting moves

you almost jolt out of your seat when you see an initiate take a too-hard beating from one of the older ones, and you walk over to the two of them before Bi Han could

it’s almost like you’re floating when you walk on over, and you gently sit down the older initiate and ask him why he was pushing the younger initiate so hard

as you talk with the initiate, nodding along and gently pushing along the conversation to get him to talk with you, you draw open the pouch by your side and start treating the younger one

your hands are gentle, firm, and experienced, fingers moving swiftly as you applied the salve and tied up the wound with a clean cloth

Bi Han fell head over heels for you, and he approaches you as the initiates walked off to continue their training

his heads felt sweaty, gross, disgusting and his heart beat inside of his chest erratically as he stared down at you

you look up at him, eyelashes catching the sun’s rays, and his voice caught in his throat as he tried to thank you for helping his initiates

instead he lets out what sounds like an irritated grunt, and you just smile up at him, holding your hand out for him to take

he gladly takes it and helps lift you up from your kneeling position and suddenly he’s eye to eye with you and feeling much more inadequate in his dusty clothing

you don’t seem to mind however and ask him to give you a tour of the grounds since you’ll be here the rest of the day as Liu Kang checks out the area around the Lin Kuei

Bi Han nods and holds his arm out for you, trying to relax his face and seem as friendly as possible, and your arm links with his and the both of you are off

your voice is so sweet, gentle, like the winds blowing over a meadow, and he explains the compounds, the history and the function behind each building

not once do you interrupt him or act rude or disgraceful and at the end of the tour, the sun has start to set in the background

Liu Kang opens the portal and beckons for you to come forth, and you unhook your arm from Bi Han’s and go to leave back to the Fire Temple

the grandmaster grabs onto your hand, face heating at the act, and he asks you when you will be back

you smile and say you’re not sure, but you will send him letters

and then you’re gone

oh but your letters come quick, and Bi Han always hurries to read each and every single one, replying even though exhaustion weighs heavy in his bones some nights

the letters are filled with drivel: your dreams, your aspirations, your days, what you ate, where you traveled, how training had been, but Bi Han treasures each and every single one of them, keeping them in the drawer of his bedroom

sometimes, you two talk about the troubles of being an Earthrealm champion, and the letters are strongly worded sometimes, making Bi Han smile

for someone so ethereal looking, you sure had quite the dirty mouth

he tells you about his brothers, his upbringing, the initiates, anything he could possibly think of because he just wants to keep writing to you

it’s easy to write to you, the words flow so easily, and your words are jumbled and messy sometimes, the letter contained crossed out words or ink blots or spelling mistakes

but it’s you, and so Bi Han doesn’t mind at the mess of the letters you send

and then a few months later, a multitude of letters exchanged between the two of you later, you come and visit again with Liu Kang on a business trip

the morning is spent in a meeting discussing the safety of Earthrealm once again and the tournament coming up in the following year

Bi Han tries his hardest not to focus on you as you watch with slanted eyes at how Liu Kang speaks and plans

you’re focused, lips pursed together, and fingers drumming softly against the wooden grain of the table

he wants to kiss you so badly, and when the meeting ends, he goes to you immediately and asks for you to walk with him

you smile and take his hand, lifting yourself up gracefully and say that you would be honored to take a walk with the grandmaster of the Lin Kuei

he takes you on a walk to the most beautiful part of the Lin Kuei, a garden filled with flowers of all kinds

a small pond murmurs in the background and the wind slightly rustles the leaves together and even the sun shines perfectly into the grounds

it’s a beautiful sight as he leads you underneath a tree, sitting down on the carved stone bench next to you and listening to your ramblings

the next few minutes are spent looking at you as you ramble and talk and rant about what has been happening at the Fire Temple

and then you roll your eyes and shake your hands and ask Bi Han how his time has been at the Lin Kuei and that he’s been awfully quiet

he just tucks a loose strand of your hair behind your ear and tells you that he was too busy admiring you

it makes you still, your eyes widen and your mouth slightly part as you stare at him in surprise, and then you stutter and say that you were admiring him too

he just tilts his head to the side and stares off to the pond sitting in front of you before saying that he liked you, wanted to kiss you

you don’t say anything as he confesses, his words are curt, short, not elegant at all, but he hopes he can get the message across that he really does like you so much that his chest hurts

he tries to be poetic, trying to compare you to the flowers or the sun, and then you cut him off with a finger against his lips, face burning

you say that you like him too, and it makes Bi Han smile a bit at your confession as well

he grabs onto your hand softly, his calloused rough hands that have seen so much blood, and your hand is soft and gentle having saved so many lives

but as he intertwines his fingers with yours, it feels so right, and you don’t make a move to get away, rather leaning in closer to bump your shoulder with his

the both of you settle into a silence, but it’s comfortable, warm, loving as the both of you just bask in each other and sit in the garden

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randoimago · 4 months ago

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Hello! May I request a x gn reader headcanon for Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith's reaction when their s/o call them by their full name instead of their petname? Thanks

Fandom: Final Fantasy

Character(s): Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Zack

Note(s): Okay but the tiktok trend of calling your partner by their full name instead of a pet name are so cute and funny. I'm happy to write this! Also, I'm in love with Zack so I put him in here too because I think he'd be the funniest out of them.

Aerith

She raises an eyebrow at the fact that you used her full name. A pout crosses her lips before she smiles widely and decides to flip it.

"Yes, Mr/Mrs/Mx. Gainsborough?" She'd ask all innocently as if she didn't just give you her last name despite not being married (yet).

Aerith hopes it flusters you. And if not then she is going to emphasize every petname she gives you in hopes that you get the hint as to what you did wrong.

Cloud

He hears his name from your lips and for some reason it sounds weird. It shouldn't because it's just his name, but your voice calling him by his actual name just doesn't sound right.

"Yeah?" He asks, confused and hesitant with what you're about to say. Are you mad at him? Did he do something wrong? Is that why you're not using one of the pet names he acts annoyed about.

Cloud won't correct you about it, but he'll be very confused and not knowing how to feel for the rest of the day. He's just overthinking everything. Honestly, he's a bit pouty, but he'd never admit it.

Tifa

Tifa is a bit concerned but also amused when you use her full name. "Did I do something wrong?" She'd straight up ask you, not one to pout or overthink just yet.

Would call you by your full name in return, just so you know how it feels and hopefully calls her by the right petname.

But Tifa isn't too upset at you calling her by her name (although if you do call her "Tifa Lockhart" instead of just "Tifa" then that'd be a bit weird). Doesn't really give you that big of a reaction.

Zack

Stares at you as if you have a second head when he hears his full name exit your lips. He pouts and crosses his arms over his chest.

"..." Not saying a damn thing to you. Zack is very bad at ignoring you, but that's what he's doing. He pouts more and more each time you call his full name instead of a pet name.

Don't even try leaving or walking away without correcting yourself. Zack will follow after and continuing looking at you like a sad puppy because you haven't called him by the right name yet.

#final fantasy x reader #ff7 x reader #cloud strife x reader #tifa lockhart x reader #aerith gainsborough x reader #zack fair x reader #zack x reader #cloud x reader #aerith x reader #tifa x reader

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silverflqmes · 8 months ago

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sephiroth x reader where he meets this amazing girl (note: you) and she cooks him a homemade meal but he freaks out because he doesnt understand how to take it properly? but he starts crying of joy because he's happy to take it since he read about how moms treat their kids and he just kinna finds solace in this girl and wants find her again but obviously shinra keeps having other plans until finally one DAY she comes back again and you can decide what happens next :)

໒⦂ 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔.

notes. i may have indulged a little ( a lot ) here, anon.. but i hope it’s somewhat okay.. brb i might have to ugly cry after this.. he makes me so😿 IM NOT NORMAL ANYMORE SOBS

genre. hurt + comfort

tw. discussion of bad eating habits.

sephiroth x gn!reader

the water came to a boil as you threw in your spaghetti, twisting the knob on low for the sauce you’d prepared.

sephiroth would be home any minute and as a reward for working as hard as he did everyday, you had taken it upon you to prepare his most favorite meal for him. it wasn’t too hard to cook, luckily, but hopefully it tasted good.

you allowed the pasta to come to a boil, taking the time to set the table nicely. while sephiroth wasn’t one for the fancy shit or grandeur, you wanted to provide him with a good ambience. he deserved it, anyway.

on a trip to sector five, you’d managed to score a dozen of flowers from a sweet girl zack was interested — aerith, as you recalled. somehow he had started her on a business with her rare blooms, it was creative and cute that he’d made the time to do that with her.

while passing by him, he had urged you to buy some to help her start out — which you were happy to do. certainly when they made the perfect centerpiece and smelled pleasantly.

the bubbles began to surface in your absence, a jingling sound entering your ears once you’d returned to turn off the heat. sephiroth was home!

a smile lifted the corners of your mouth as you wiped a bead of sweat from your forehead before walking up to the door when he emerged. “welcome home, sephiroth!”

his face that was colored with exhaustion instantly contorted into one of ease, lips curling at the sight of you, his precious partner. were you waiting for him? how adorable.

the first class SOLDIER leaned in closely to your face and bestowed you with a chaste kiss, chuckling softly. “thank you, y/n. it’s a lovely sight to find you here,” he continued, holding your cheek in his gloved hand before looking behind you. “i see you’ve been busy.”

your cheeks burned at his words, a fuzzy feeling finding its way to your chest as you let out a sheepish laugh. “a-ah, i may have helped myself to your kitchen.. i hope you don’t mind.” he wouldn’t mind, he never did — but you still felt the need to say so.

his thumb rolled over your soft skin, a sound of amusement tumbling past his lips. “not at all, might i ask what you prepared yourself?”

blinking, you then proceeded to quirk a brow before snorting. “i composed a gourmet meal for the both of us, featuring candlelight and flowers. up to your standards, mr. first class?” you joked, to which he rolled his eyes, playfully.

“you treat me as if i were royalty.” sephiroth turned his head away, failing to suppress the small lift to his rosewood appendages.

you took ahold of his leather clad hand, snickering softly. “the best way to treat you, according to your dearest lover!” came your cheery response as you tugged him forward. “now come on, i doubt a battlefield has a scheduled lunch or dinner time!”

the silver haired male couldn’t argue with that reasoning. some missions went without food for long periods of time — just another thing he’d learnt to bear over the years. the human body could go weeks without alimentation, and he was no stranger to being denied or prevented from having a meal.

however, upon meeting you and having explained that reasoning to you early into your relationship.. he was met with quite a different perspective. while the SOLDIER found eating to be secondary — something that he would indulge in if the time and situation was right, you.. stressed it.

it had come as a great shock when he would announce he’d only had breakfast for the entirety of the day — which was basically just a bar or shake.. the bare minimum, in other words. frustrated, you’d scolded him that very evening before falling into a routine of meal preparation.

you didn’t care if he had to show up with this cutesy lunch box in a den of SOLDIERs, but it better have been emptied or so help you.

sephiroth had been greatly confused by your concern, and quite frankly — still was, however he understood where you were coming from ( despite lacking the same care for himself that you showed him ), and ate every last bite.

“i suppose i have to agree with that.” the long haired swordsman finally answered, bringing his steps to a halt before your work.

it wasn’t like you hadn’t made him food before, but this time felt different. you always put your all into everything, though this felt extra, extra special, somehow. perhaps, being cooked dinner was more.. intimate?

you patted his armored shoulder, grinning. “good! now get comfy while i get your plate ready, i used up the wine for the sauce.. so um, just water for tonight — but you need it!!”

with that, you had dashed back over to the kitchen, leaving behind a chuckling sephiroth. he’d never seen someone be so serious over dinner, it was silly. and yet, endearing all at the same time that you cared so deeply for his health when everyone had taught or treated him otherwise.

“are you certain you don’t require my assistance?” he inquired, leaning back in his seat to see if you were managing.

a laugh echoed from kitchen at his expression of concern. “nope! you just sit tight, on my way over now!” you assured, picking up your bowls and a basket of freshly sliced bread before making your way to the table.

despite your dismissal, the cat eyed hero made his way over to help with the placement, not wanting you to struggle any longer. you’d gone through great lengths for him today after all, it was the least he could do.

as sephiroth sat across from you, he was finally given the chance to take a look at what you’d put together, blinking in surprise.

“seafood pasta..?” he couldn’t remember the last time he had it. “how.. did you know?”

picking a piece of bread, you found yourself winking, suppressing a giggle. “i may or may not have asked cissnei.. given her network of information.” you smiled sheepishly, grabbing your silverware. “i hope that’s okay with you- i just wanted to make something you really, really liked!”

the first class SOLDIER was quiet for a moment, a strange warmth bubbling in his chest.

subconsciously, his hand lifted to touch where his heart had been, if only to find out what that strange feeling had been. “you.. you did that, for me?” his voice had almost come out in a weak whisper. the mako hued male was soft spoken to begin with, but this held more vulnerability than the other times.

an eager nod was the response he’d received, and despite his desire to question why, he took it as his cue to pick up his silverware, twirling the spaghetti with his fork. it.. had been a long time since he’d had his favorite dish, and homemade.. was a first.

as he tasted your work, he almost melted at the flavors — the nostalgia of it all. and yet.. it somehow was even better than any other occasion he had ordered or cooked it himself.

was it.. because you had made it specially for him? how odd, that the cooking from a specific person could affect the outcome so drastically.

“how is it?” you finally spoke up, curious to hear of his thoughts. “the seafood was a lucky find, i’m hoping it’s good and that i didn’t get scammed ahahaha..”

given midgar’s inland location, fish.. wasn’t something commonly sold, and if it was — it certainly would have costed a pretty gil. had you really gone through all this effort, just for him?

sephiroth swallowed the next bite he took, inclining his head. “it’s wonderful- nobody, i realize.. has ever done something like this for me before — or gone through as much trouble as you had to do this for me..” he spoke up in acknowledgment, feeling his eyes soften.. and blur?

why was his vision — was he.. crying?

the silver haired SOLDIER raised his gloved hands to brush the corners of his eyes. fresh tears, yes. he’d almost forgotten the feeling.

“seph-?” you blurted, getting up from your chair before rushing over to him. “oh no- is it bad?? are you having allergies — i didn’t put anything spicy in it.. a-ahh, i don’t have an allergy pen..” you panicked, dashing over to your purse before feeling a hand grasp your own.

your lashes fluttered in surprise when you were suddenly pulled into firm chest, silver draping over you as a pair of strong arms encircled your body.

“s-sephiroth?” you called out softly, worry in your voice as you rested your hands on his back, reciprocating the embrace. “everything okay? you’re crying..” you added quietly, frowning. did something happen?

he sucked in a breath, shaking his head. “i apologize- i didn’t mean to bring you anxiety with my sudden reaction.. the food was lovely, truly, and i.. could not be more grateful for it.” shinra’s hero began, relenting his grip a little. he didn’t want to hurt or bruise you after all with his strength. “i guess i was just.. taken by surprise, is all — being treated in this way is still.. rather foreign to me.” he admitted, attempting to even his voice out.

but you were patient, and listened to the best of your extent, at last understanding what he meant.

your boyfriend spoke little of his past, but the few things that he’d felt comfortable enough to elaborate on.. had been horrible to hear- it made your heart ache terribly in your chest.

“oh sephiroth..” you whispered gently, sliding your fingers into his hair comfortingly. “you’re okay, don’t apologize.. i was just worried since shellfish allergies are common..” you exhaled, panic dissipating. “i’m just glad you’re not sick.. but hey, you deserve this- alright? you work really hard everyday, you have been all your life.. this is the least i could do.”

he felt himself calm down gradually with your words, breaths slowly coming out more even. the male hadn’t planned on breaking down so suddenly, and while he felt bad.. you assured him that it was okay to react and feel as he did.

what.. made him so special to you? to go to all these extents for him and yet disregard all your efforts all at the same time..

“the ‘least’ you speak of hardly covers all that you do for me, y/n.. despite finding myself undeserving of your kindness.. i am forever grateful to be wanted and cared for by you — to be looked at in the way your eyes view me.. rather than the usual contempt and obsessive fascination scrutiny that i am met with.” he spoke after a brief silence, wanting to translate his feelings into words as best as possible.

they nearly had you melting, and out of pure adoration, you brought your lips at last to his. a reassurance that you had understood every bit of his feelings and that you had returned them all in full.

“you are every bit as deserving, sephiroth, as am i of you.. and i’ll always, always care for you. to me — you are everything, and worthy of all the love in the world.”

notes. screaming crying this is a little rushed towards the end but i hope it’s decent enough anon! my illiterate ass did not read the last bit of the request.. so i didn’t include the shinra bit😭 hope it’s okay!

↳ return to main masterlist . request rules . send an ask

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sageteapost · 6 months ago

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AHH HELLO I have been dying to find active writers and fics about Cloud Strife!! Can I request where Reader works at honeybees inn and met Cloud, becuase of his dance moves and awkwardness reader finds him amusing and funny and basically liked him and helped him and Aerith in their mission to get closer to him

You could add the rest on what happens

| A Night at the Honeybee Inn |

[ Cloud Strife x GN! Reader ]

CW + Tags: None. [No established relationship. GN! Reader]

Summary: A newcomber arrives at the Honeybee Inn and after some curiousity (and frankly finding him cute) you find out what he's there for.

[(A/N): Hey anon! Wowie it's been a while since I've written for Final Fantasy VII so I'm a bit rusty! I hope you could forgive me for taking so long :( I hope you enjoy it anyways!! ]

You’re just a simple waiter at the Honeybee Inn, serving drinks and snacks for the patrons. The pay was nice for the most part, and the environment was…fine at times. But it was a job, and everyone needs that.

However things changed when this blond guy walked in. Things were going okay as usual, but this guy...definitely was something. He wasn't a regular, obviously. A newbie. But he didn't give off a vibe where he would be here. In fact he looked like SOLDIER.

You didn't pay too much mind to him at first, so it was fine. All types of people come to the Honeybee Inn, even the most uptight of folks.

But things were definitely off when you were serving some drinks to a patron, the same exact blond guy was now on stage. Dancing with Andrea. It was...interesting, to say the least. And frankly a bit amusing.

That boy looked so awkward up there, that after serving those drinks you ended up taking a "break". He was...cute. Sure he looked a bit goofy up there on the stage with Andrea and the other Honeybees, but he got the hang of it quickly.

So after the performance and his transformation into a pretty dress, you decided to walk up to him. The man look horrified for a moment, afraid you were going to tease him. And to his relief, you didn't.

"Hey, not bad up there!" you said with a small smile.

He stayed quiet for a moment, before muttering a quiet "thanks".

The two of you stayed quiet for a bit, not knowing what else to say as you gaze around the club. "..You reek of Shinra. What's brings you here anyway?"

You notice him freezing for a moment, as if he had been caught. Eventually, he breaks. "..No. I'm not with them. I'm...helping someone else."

"If you say so...well, I've got nothing much to lose. So, what's up?"

..Oh you're in it now. Helping someone so openly.

The man looks at you in surprise, and for a moment his mouth opens. Almost as if he was going to question your motives. To be fair, he should have. Someone he didn't even know nor trust was trying to help? But the thing is; considering the situation his was in he and Aerith needed all of the help he could get.

So after a moment of reluctance, he caved. Briefly introduced himself and their situation. Much to his surprise, you took his story and he took your help.

Plus, if something did go wrong, he could always use that sword on his back.

#ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ request approved #ff7 cloud #ffvii x gn reader #ffvii x reader #cloud strife x reader #cloud strife x gn reader #cloud x reader #cloud strife #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7

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ariseur · 8 months ago

Text

cloud’s masterlist ꨄ︎

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

baking with cloud ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | fluff | blurb | gn!reader

cloud (n)sfw hc’s ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | headcanons | fluff & nsfw | gn!reader

taking denzel to play at the playground ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | blurb | fluff | gn!reader

red kisses ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | fic | fluff | fem!reader

dad cloud headcanons ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | headcanons | fluff | afab!reader

cloud with his polar opposite ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | headcanons / blurb | fluff | gn!reader

cloud and aerith’s twin ( you ) ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | blurb | fluff | gn!reader

wall market flirting ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | blurb | suggestive | fem!reader

jealousy headcanons ꨄ︎

agzsc + reno x reader | headcanons | ??? | gn!reader

spot me some sunscreen? ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | fic | suggestive / bord. nsfw | fem!reader

cloud with reader who’s never seen snow ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | blurb | fluff | gn!reader

motorcycle ride with cloud ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | blurb | fluff | gn!reader

cloud coming home after so long ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | fic | comfort (?) / fluff | gn!reader

you n cloud babysitting your little sister ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | blurb | fluff | gn!reader

time check at 12am with cloud ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | dottie’s 500 event | fluff | gn!reader

patching cloud up ends in a reward kiss ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | dottie’s 500 event | fluff | gn!reader

“your hands are shaking.” ꨄ︎

cloud x reader | dottie’s 500 event | fluff | gn!reader

#final fantasy vii x reader #final fantasy 7 x reader #final fantasy x reader #final fantasy vii #ffvii x reader #ffvii rebirth #ffvii remake #ff7 fanfiction #ffvii #ffvii crisis core #ffvii cloud #ff7 x reader #cloud strife x reader #cloud strife #cloud strife ff7 #final fantasy cloud #odottie’s masterlists ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚#ODOTTIE *･῾ ᵎ⌇ ⁺◦ 💘 ✧.*#kiss kiss

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final-fantasy-imagines · 2 years ago

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Hi!! Redoing my request because I forgot to specify character. Could you please do a small sweet gale (soulmates au? Any kind works! If you want something specific tho: soulmate hears a specific song around the other) and sunflower for Cloud Strife.

Here you go, dear anon! Thank you for your request. <3 Hope you enjoy!

Prompts: Fluff, soulmate AU, “You have a beautiful smile.” (1k followers event: Vani's flower shop)

Every now and then the stars align – Cloud Strife x gn!reader

It’s when you enter the slums of Sector 7 when you hear that melody again. Albeit quiet and faint, you recognize it immediately; it’s the same melody you’ve heard the last couple of times you’ve been to the slums. And you remember you have also heard it up on the plate one or two times.

If you lived in another world you probably would have wondered if you were losing your mind. But in this world, hearing melodies out of the blue isn’t something unusual. In fact, it’s quite normal – it’s how soulmates are supposed to find each other. Each pair has a specific melody assigned to them, a melody only they can hear when their soulmate is near. And the soft tune that keeps playing in your head as you make your way through the slums can only mean one thing – your soulmate must be here somewhere.

You’re not sure how you feel about that, though. Of course, the thought that someone’s out there who’s meant for you and only for you is quite nice but at the same time, it’s equally terrifying. Because in the end, your soulmate will be a stranger – and how are you supposed to fall in love with a stranger?

“Damnit, (Y/N), stop overthinking,” you scold yourself in a low tone, a lousy attempt to distract yourself from the familiar song playing in your head, “you’ll cross that bridge when you get to it. No need to puzzle your head about this now.”

The young woman passing you by gives you a strange look, probably because you’re talking to yourself. Most people see it as a sign of insanity, after all. (If someone asked you, music playing in your head randomly isn’t much better but since it’s linked to the whole soulmate thing, people usually don’t question it.)

“Um, excuse me,” you finally manage to say, and the woman stops in her tracks, raising her eyebrows as you approach her, “could you help me, please? I’m not from around here but I’m looking for someone. His name is, um,” you pause to look at the wadded piece of paper your friend Aerith has given you earlier, “Cloud. Any chance you know who that is?”

Without any hesitation, the woman shakes her head. “Never heard of him,” she replies, and you can’t tell if she actually doesn’t know him or if she’s just saying that to get rid of you. But it probably doesn’t matter anyways – either way, she can’t help you.

“You could ask Tifa, from 7th Heaven,” the woman adds after a few moments of uncomfortable silence (well, except for the melody that’s still playing in the back of your mind), “she knows almost everyone around here.”

“Oh. Thank you.” You hesitate for a second. “And where can I find her?”

* * * *

You soon find out that 7th Heaven is a bar located in the heart of the slums of Sector 7. The building itself has seen better days, just like every other building in the area, but that doesn’t make the bar any less charming. In fact, you’re pretty sure the run-down, industrial look is what makes it charming in the first place.

A jukebox in the corner of the entrance area plays quiet music that mixes in with the melody repeating in your head. At the other end of the dimly lit room is a bar with several stools, and behind it, you can spot a young woman, dwelling on her own thoughts as she polishes a glass.

Approaching the bar, you clear your throat. “Um, sorry for intruding,” you begin, giving the woman a brief smile when she looks up. If she’s surprised to see someone here at this time of the day, she’s good at hiding it. “It’s no problem,” she says and returns your smile, “you’re here for a drink?”

You hesitate for a moment. A part of you is tempted to order something, simply because the ongoing music in your head is proof that your soulmate is somewhere around the area and you need to calm your nerves, but for the same reason, you need to stay at least somewhat level-headed.

“No,” you reply eventually. “I’m looking for someone and a lady on the streets told me to ask someone named Tifa for help. Um, do you know where I can find her?”

The woman behind the bar laughs. “Yes, indeed. I’m Tifa.” She pauses, a patient smile playing around the corners of her mouth. She’s clearly waiting for you to introduce yourself, so you tell her your name. Her smile widens. “Nice to meet you. Now, how can I help you?”

Perhaps it’s Tifa, you think to yourself while you explain the situation but then, you remember that the music in your head would have stopped by now if she were your soulmate. So, no, probably not Tifa.

“Why are you looking for him?” she asks, not quite able to hide the curiosity in her voice. “Need a mercenary?”

“Hm? No.” So, that’s what he is. “To be honest, I have no idea why I’m looking for him. My friend Aerith told me I should go to the slums of Sector 7 and talk to him. I know this sounds so weird but she insisted.”

Tifa’s face lights up. “Oh, I know Aerith! We met a while ago. Long story.”

“I think I’ve heard parts of it.”

It’s hard to focus on a conversation when your mind keeps repeating the same melody over and over again, and you begin to wonder if that’s why Aerith sent you here – because she knows that your soulmate is somewhere around here. She has an ungodly sixth sense for this kind of things, after all.

“Cloud should be back soon. You can wait for him here if you want,” Tifa suggests, snapping you out of your thoughts. In that moment, the door to the bar opens, and the music in your head grows louder and louder, almost to a point where it becomes unbearable, and when you turn around, you see a blonde man approaching you. Then, stunning blue eyes meet yours, and the music stops.

Oh.

You try very hard not to lose your composure but you’re pretty sure you’re staring at him like he’s some kind of supernatural creature. But he looks at you the same way, so it’s probably not all that bad. (At least that’s what you try to tell yourself because the way Tifa giggles quietly and excuses herself convinces you that the whole situation is more than awkward.)

“Hi,” you say, and much to your surprise, you even manage to smile.

Cloud blinks before, all of a sudden, he blurts out, “You have a beautiful smile.”

It’s obvious that you’re not the only one taken aback by his sudden compliment because he has barely ended his sentence when he starts to blush vigorously, the rosy pink color dusting his cheeks a lovely contrast to his eyes.

Oh no, you think, he’s adorable.

Silence settles in but soon enough, you gather the courage to ask him to join you for a walk to get to know each other better. The slums might not be the most romantic place on this planet but still you feel your heart flutter when Cloud agrees.

You really need to thank Aerith later.

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed it please consider reblogging, liking and/or leaving a comment. I'd really appreciate the support. <3

Taglist: @sixdaysofsilverashes @thevoidwriting @theimaginaryheir @asilverraven

#cloud strife x reader #cloud strife x you #ff7 x reader #final fantasy x reader #cloud strife fluff #vani's flower shop #reader insert #gn!reader #gender neutral reader #ff7 fluff

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wonderl3ss · 3 years ago

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HOLAA!! can i req cloud strife with an s/o who rambles a lot and is very energetic and one day they’re like hanging out at seventh heaven and they’re doin their thing and rambling and someone tells them they talk to much?!?! and then they just go silent for a few days only giving short answers or speaking when needed, j just wanna see what he’d do in this situation 👩‍🌾

TY IN ADVANCED

pairing: cloud strife x gn!reader

a/n: tysm for the req !! sorry it took a while, but i hope it’s okay n what u wanted ! <33

your most noticeable trait was that you were extremely talkative. joining in with every conversation, even if it didn’t actually involve you. nobody had a problem with this as far as you knew, they all expressed that they enjoyed hearing you talk and ramble on about literally whatever.

cloud especially enjoyed this. he, on the other hand, was known for being quiet, usually only speaking when spoken to, or when the conversation was important and directly involving him. he swears he could listen to you talk forever and never get sick of your voice; just enjoying seeing the pure happiness and genuine smile on your face when you’re talking to him or the others.

you get especially chatty after a few drinks, though. tifa joked one night in seventh heaven that she was surprised you still manage to find things to talk about.

and that is where you, tifa, aerith and cloud all sit right now, drinks in hand, you mindlessly chatting away as they all listen intently on what it was that you had found so interesting today.

there were a couple other people sat in the bar too, so at times tifa had to leave the conversation to pour them drinks and whatnot.

gasping at a certain thing you suddenly remembered, you subconsciously clapped your hands together, unknowingly gaining the attention of a random man sitting at a table behind you all.

the man gave the back of your head a death glare before speaking up, “will you shut up? you talk way too fucking much, i’m getting a headache,” the slamming of his glass on the table caught your attention.

you turned around to look at him, his eyebrows were furrowed and his hand was tightly gripping onto his glass, you were afraid it was going to smash under the pressure. he was definitely annoyed.

“are you talking to me?” you ask, your voice slightly lowering. you weren’t expecting someone to raise their voice at you, and honestly, it hurt.

the look that cloud was giving the man would definitely kill him on the spot if that were possible.

“there’s nobody else in here talking as loud as you, is there? now shut up and let me drink in peace.” you didn’t feel like arguing so you left the conversation at that. you wondered if the man was doing your friends a favour in getting you to shut up.

suddenly the drink seemed more interesting than the conversation you were just having. aerith must’ve noticed a change in your mood as you turned back around to take another sip of your drink.

“are you okay?” she smiled, trying to lighten the mood a little in an attempt to get you to continue what you were talking about previously.

“i’m fine. but, i think i’m gonna go, i’m getting tired.” you thanked tifa for the drinks, waving goodbye to everyone before leaving and heading home.

to say the least, it got a lot louder in the bar after you left. neither cloud nor tifa were going to let the man slide with souring your mood like that. it didn’t seem like the man was going to be returning there ever again.

cloud left immediately after dealing with the situation and headed straight to your place. he didn’t bother with knocking �� not that he even needed to.

he found you curled up in your bed, wrapped up in the covers with them pulled up right around your head. cloud wouldn’t have even noticed you were there if it weren’t for the sound of the sheets moving as you pulled them down to see who had entered.

“talk to me. what’s wrong?” he lay down next to you, pulling what little of the covers was left around him.

“i said i’m fine, just tired. i’m not in the mood to talk right now, i just want to sleep.” you whispered. cloud was sure that if you were any quieter he wouldn’t have heard you.

he didn’t want to push you to talk if you weren’t feeling like it; he assumed you would tell him in the morning when you were feeling better. he knows that personally, he wouldn’t want to be pushed into talking about something, so he didn’t force you.

there was only silence after that. just knowing cloud was there and that he loves and cares for you slowly calmed you to sleep. cloud eventually fell asleep shortly after he noticed you had.

in the morning he still didn’t push you to talk. he woke up before you and went on with the normal things he usually does in the morning, to allow you time to yourself to think about how you were going to talk to him.

except, the only thing you could think about was the words that man said to you. like a broken record, the words just played over and over in your head as you lay awake, staring up at the ceiling. you could hear cloud ever so slightly making noise now and again, which eventually made you think of him instead.

now, you felt guilty. guilty that you just wouldn’t speak to him because of something a stranger said. someone irrelevant in your life. so why should you listen to them? why would their opinion matter to you? — questions you were unable to find answers to.

you still didn’t feel like talking just yet, though.

deciding that you should probably actually get out of bed, you eventually pulled yourself up and into the bathroom to do whatever it was you did in the mornings.

walking into the kitchen you noticed cloud was sat at the table, daydreaming about who knows what. filling up a glass with water, you then sat opposite him, just staring at the water dripping down the sides of the glass before taking a sip.

“feeling any better?” cloud eventually spoke up, looking at you, his head slightly at an angle with a soft expression on his face.

you quickly glanced at him before going back to staring at the water. your voice just louder than a whisper, you replied, “yeah, i guess.”

the rest of the day was filled with cloud trying to talk to you, only for you to reply with short answers, and small conversations that you barely participated in, starting only when other people spoke first — usually, you were the one starting every conversation.

once again, you fell asleep in silence, and also woke up in silence.

currently, you were in the kitchen making something to eat. you had woken up before cloud, and feeling a lot better than yesterday, you got the motivation to actually make something for the both you to sit and eat.

while laying in bed this morning, cloud asleep next to you, it left you alone with your thoughts. however, this time they weren’t of those words from that man. you had now decided you weren’t going to let him affect you anymore.

cloud never slept in long, waking up not long after you. walking into the kitchen to see you actually up and smiling — as opposed to the last few days — was a little shocking to him.

“you seem to be feeling better. wanna talk now?” you jumped a little at the sudden sound of clouds voice.

“mhm, i realised it was stupid to let some stranger have this much affect on me,” you replied as you turned around to pass cloud the food you had made him.

“that’s good.“ cloud never was much of a talker, and as you both ate the rest of your food, cloud mostly silent, you realised you were going to be doing most of the speaking yet again.

#cloud strife x reader #cloud x reader #ff7 x reader #final fantasy vii #ff7 fanfic #cloud strife #ff7 remake

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frickingnerd · 6 months ago

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i'm all you'll ever need

pairing: aerith gainsborough x gn!reader

summary: aerith dreaded the day you'd want to leave the slums...

“sometimes i wonder what life is like in other sectors. perhaps, even above the plate!”

life in the sector 5 slums wasn't enough for you anymore. aerith knew that one day, you'd want to see the world beyond the place you were born. but she hadn't expected it to happen so soon…

“cruel, terrible people live out there. people who want to hurt you. is it so bad to be away from them?”

aerith had never much liked the upper plate and the other sectors. her life in the sector 5 slums was all she ever wanted. tending the flowers in the church and spending her days with you. what more could she have asked for?

“don't you think there's gotta be at least some good people out there? i'm sure we could find them–!”

you were too optimistic. truthfully, aerith was a cheerful and rather optimistic person herself. but there was no way she could be optimistic about you leaving. after all, what if you'd meet someone else? what if you'd never return to her? what if you'd forget about her altogether…

“there's plenty of good people in your life already.” aerith pouted. “unless, i'm not good enough for you anymore…”

you were a bit startled by that response, yet quickly chuckled when you believed aerith to be joking.

“you're good enough for me, of course you are! maybe you're right… as long as i have you, i don't need to go anywhere else. you're all i need!”

aerith softly smiled at your words. you were right. finally, you seemed to see it too. she was all you needed. whatever else was out there, it didn't matter, as long as you had her.

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crisiscutie · 2 years ago

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Hey, can I please have an Aerith x gn!reader scenario where the reader wakes up from a nightmare about Aerith’s death, and Aerith having to comfort the reader? Thanks.

Sure. This is going to be 7R Aerith for that extra dose of tragedy.

Content Warnings: Angst, Discussion of Death.

Aerith had grown used to your loud, constant turning and grunting during the night, so it didn't bother her too much. As a light sleeper, she hears everything. She had to become one, due to the many nights she spent as a guinea pig for Shinra, huddled close to her now deceased mother as a child. Every time she saw her mother taken away for experiments, she was overwhelmed by feelings of dread, forcing her to stay vigilant in case it was the last time she would see her.

The sound of your whimpers brought back memories of her mother's, a reminder of the prison cell that had been their home. But this time, she doesn't have to pretend to be asleep. Or pretend to be oblivious or joyful to not worry her mother further. She now can do something. She can make a difference now.

Aerith rises from the bed, her emerald eyes searching your face with worry as she waits for you to wake up. You open your teary eyes to feel the warmth of her hands gripping your cold ones.

"Aerith, you, your... di-"

You tried to speak more, but the sorrow was too much. All that escaped your lips was a sob. If you weren't bawling, you would have noticed the flashes of fear and surprise in Aerith's beautiful eyes, and heard her barely suppressed gasp. She quickly pondered; Are you developing the same abilities she has now? How did you know about her fate!? No. She can't focus on that. Not when you're in this state.

She moves her face closer to yours, as her gentle hands gave yours a comforting squeeze.

"Nightmares may seem real, but they don't have to be true… I'm here to stay. I promise." You looked up at her, and you could almost feel the warmth of her determination emanating from her eyes. She's never been the type to make statements she doesn't have faith in.

"What matters now is that I'm with you… I'll always be here to support you, no matter what.." She tried to suppress her apprehension. The sound of her heart pounds in her ears, though thankfully you didn't seem to notice. You merely absorbed her words and the warmth that transferred from her body. Aerith rises from the bed, a bright smile replacing her determined expression.

"I'll get you a glass of water." Before you rise to join her, she shakes her head. "Stay here. Take a few breaths, I'll be right back." You sit back down, slightly disappointed that you couldn't accompany her.

Aerith closes the bedroom door with a soft click, her trembling hand pressed against her lips.

With her hand concealing her tears and loud sobs, she made her way down the hallway to the kitchenette. Oh, how much she wanted you to know she learned. How she really felt. How much she wanted you to promise to her, no matter what, you'll stay strong and keep walking forward. Your nightmare was a haunting signal of her unavoidable end that was loomed in the future. But the vision of her death was especially cruel for you to behold.

And Aerith is already resigned to it. Fate doesn't need to warn her of her death again. As the last Cetra, she will protect this planet, at any cost. She knows that her death will bring hurt and sorrow to all of you, yet you will find a way to survive. Through suffering, you will grow strong.

As she twists the doorknob back into your room, she forces a beaming smile, her cheeks rosy in the soft light of the room as your eyes meet. At least now, she can cherish the limited moments she has with you.

#aerith gainsborough x reader #aerith gainsborough #miracle cutie #ff7 x reader #final fantasy x reader #reader insert #gender neutral insert #gender neutral reader #aerith x reader #final fantasy 7

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devilfic · 4 years ago

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❝leather-bound hands❞

plot: you have a strange obsession with cloud’s hands. pairing: cloud strife x gn!reader. cw: humor, mutual pining, cloud is touch-starved but so are you. suggestive content because cloud’s gloves are really sexy and I like them a lot. words: 5.6k. rewritten: 3/15/24.

No matter how you felt about physical intimacy, battle never allowed your boundaries to stay uncrossed for long.

Cloud had a... habit of manhandling. His mind moved faster than most of you, and so when you were up against a particularly nasty enemy and Cloud really needed one of you to be anywhere else than where you were, he took it upon himself to move you. Barret was the only one free from this habit of Cloud’s (based on the fact that he was far too bulky to maneuver), but the rest of you? It was fair game.

His habit couldn’t be stopped but it could be reformed, which meant that if Cloud was getting ready to fling one of you out of the way, you had to make the most of it. You, specifically, learned how to anticipate when he was about to reorder your party.

If he tossed Aerith next to you, you knew that you could rely on her shielding spells to amplify your attacks. If he shoved Barret in front of you, you knew that a barrage of attacks were about to be unleashed against your party, and you needed to guard immediately. While the others often complained about the tricky little habit of Cloud’s, you couldn’t bring yourself to do the same. After all, he was ex-SOLDIER. If anyone in your group were to know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses best, it was going to be Cloud.

It had taken some time for the early members of Avalanche to get used to the new setup, yet you were probably the only person who could keep up with Cloud’s battle-trained mind. That meant that he very rarely needed to move you... until the one day he did.

You were being hounded on by a few infantrymen, somewhere on the outskirts of a sector you’d never been to. It hadn’t taken long for your suspicious group to catch the eyes of prying Shinra dogs.

You’re about five seconds from knocking a smug grin off the face of one of your assailants when you feel something firm and leathery take hold of your upper arm, flinging you out of the way of the infantryman’s eyesight. The touch only lasts a moment but the sudden change of scenery throws you way off balance. You stumble into Tifa, shouting an apology to the brawler just in time to catch your bearings, and send your nail-ridden bat into the helmet of one of her attackers, laying them flat out.

You can’t stop thinking about that feeling, though.

After shaking off the infantrymen, all of you had huddled into a dilapidated motel to rest and hide out from any other people looking to cause trouble. It was up to you and Cloud to head out and get dinner. You’d both been instructed by Barret (perhaps unnecessarily) to not draw any attention to yourselves. “You two look like a couple,” Aerith had offered unhelpfully, a sly smile on her face for reasons beyond your frazzled mind, “people hate looking at couples in love!”

The foot or two of space between you and Cloud did not exactly spell out “IN LOVE”, but it would have to do as you both walked through the crowded sector, searching for somewhere to eat that would arouse the least amount of complaints from everyone. Your upper arm is still tingling.

“You okay?” You ask, a small attempt to make friendly conversation with your introverted companion. Neither of you were exactly the type for small talk, but it beat the awkward silence you felt looming over you.

Cloud shot you a quick glance before focusing on not getting knocked over or separated from you. He’d left his buster sword back at the motel in exchange for discretion, much to his discomfort, “Fine. You?”

That wasn’t much to work with. “Yeah... that encounter earlier threw me off, is all.”

“Why’s that?” You could hear the palpable confusion in his voice, even over the bustling nightlife, “It wasn’t any worse that what we’ve dealt with before.”

You don’t really know how to articulate that the battle itself wasn’t what had flustered you without making him feel weird. Or making you look weird. It was such a simple touch after all. He’d done it to everyone. It was going to happen to you eventually. You shouldn’t have been so shocked.

Except, out of everyone, Cloud’s was the only one whose touch had never graced your skin before. Barret would give you proud claps on the back, Tifa was no stranger to taking your hands in hers from time to time, Aerith never hesitated to throw her arms around you for hugs, and Red would brush up against your leg all the time. Cloud often kept to himself until a fight broke out—not the type for physical affection—but even then, he very rarely felt the need to push or pull you anywhere. It just felt... new.

You don’t realize Cloud is calling your name until you feel that same leather against your skin again. Only, this time, it’s wrapped firmly around your hand. You’ve found yourself standing off to the side of the giggling crowd, Cloud’s gloved hand clenched around your own almost hard enough to hurt. When he sees the recognition flash in your eyes, he releases. “Sorry,” he mutters, immediately retracting his hand, “you weren’t reacting to anything else... are you okay?”

Your hand is tingling, flexing at the missing touch. It feels so... strange. You had never really considered yourself the type to miss touch. You were fine without it, had grown up fine without it.

Why was this any different? “I should be apologizing. My mind is all over the place right now and we’re nowhere near safe enough to enjoy that luxury.”

Cloud frowns, stepping a little closer, “You sure it’s just the ambush that’s got you shaken?”

Of course not. You nod, “I think there’s a BBQ place nearby. I can smell the meat. Red’ll love it.”

Cloud looks you over for a moment longer, seemingly unconvinced, before he allows you to lead by your nose. That night, the topic doesn’t come up again.

Except it does. It doesn’t come up in conversation, but at some point, you awaken in the middle of the night in a feverish sweat. You can feel that leather disappearing from your thighs the moment you look out around you in the motel room, your chest heaving as you take in gulps of air. You haven’t had a dream like that since...

You feel so ashamed, sluggishly dragging yourself out of bed as quietly as possible as to not wake the fast asleep Aerith beside you. She doesn’t stir and you’re thankful that she’s too tuckered out to react, a first for the light sleeper.

Your first stop is the bathroom. You splash your face with tap water and look over yourself in the grimy bathroom mirror, trying to gather your exhausted thoughts. All you could remember was the burn of freezing metal against your stomach, leather gloves dragging up your knees... and a blurry figure, practically a mess of shapes, but undeniably-

You don’t finish that thought lest it stick with you for the rest of the night, so you slip out of the bathroom and head for the door, deciding that you’d do well to get some fresh air. The clock on the nightstand tells you that it’s around witching hour, so it’ll be quiet out at least.

The motel hallways are cold and carry a distinct smell with them, the mark of generations of travelers finding refuge here, and focusing on that distracts you from the vestiges of your dream.

By the time you get outside, you find only one other person straggling outside the motel. It’s an older man with a cigarette between his teeth. He nods to you with a nonchalant eyebrow raise, and then goes back to staring out at the street with little interest.

Not a moment passes before you’re bombarded with Cloud’s phantom touch again.

Why was this fucking with you? There was no heat, no passion behind either touch. Nothing special. Nothing remarkable. He did it to get your attention, that’s it. You’ve been touched plenty of times by the others. It was nothing new to you! Cloud was nothing new to you.

His hands on you just felt... really good.

You chalked it up to the leather. Perhaps you just liked the feel (and you ignored the fact that you’d never reacted as bodily to Tifa’s leather gloves). There was no reason for you to be standing out here, in the middle of the night, ignoring a normal (abnormal), silly (unnerving) dream that did nothing but steal precious, precious sleep from you. All because you liked the feel of Cloud’s hands—leather-bound hands.

You feel like the silence outside is only making this worse for you.

With a defeated grumble, you decide that maybe you’ll grab a drink from one of the vending machines. Maybe these were the ramblings of a dehydrated mind?

As you greedily gulp down a bottle of some fancy Sector 8 water, you’re aware of the pulse in your throat and the curiosity to feel leather against it.

It’s been a few days since your dream and you’ve since come to terms with the fact that you are not immune to the allure of Cloud Strife, no matter how... humbling that is to admit.

Cloud hasn’t touched you since then despite the fact that you’ve seen your fair share of brawls in that time. You tell yourself it’s a compliment: that you’re good at fighting. You know where to be and when, so much so that Cloud doesn’t feel the need to intervene. You’re happy he leaves you alone. It makes you feel like you’re doing a good job.

It’s just that when Cloud’s hand reaches out to touch Tifa, and it’s so close to touching you too, you lean in if only to feel the brush of his fingers before he’s snatching away his childhood friend instead. The moment you realize what you’re doing, you growl, swinging your bat extra hard at a lingering Monodrive that dares look at you the wrong way. Your rational mind knows it isn’t, but your irrational mind? It just really wants to feel something again.

The first encounter with craving Cloud’s touch had left you nervous, out of it, but now you felt a strange, unjustifiable anger. Yes, Cloud was undeniably handsome and yes, there was some weird, primal part of you that quite liked the idea of being touched by him (however briefly), but that didn’t give you the right to be as upset as you were. Even you knew, in your hazed mind, that you were acting childish. But still...

You wished you had the balls to just reach out and grab him like Aerith and Tifa did, but you lacked the excuse of having known him long enough for it not be weird. If you tried to touch him out of the blue, it’d freak you both out. Even accidental brushes were few and far between with the two of you. You were always hyper-aware of his presence, managing to stay out of his way just fine. If you thought too long on ways you could encourage physical contact with him—just to put your mind to rest—you’d end up overheated and frustrated. You could tell it was already taking everything in Aerith not to be nosy.

But you know everyone can sense something’s wrong with you when you say that you’re going out alone that evening, not even bothering to say for how long or where you’d even be going. But you’re thankful that you don’t hear anyone following after you; some time alone might clear your misguided mind, after all.

The town you were squatting in ended up being near the sea, and the faint crashing of waves at the shore draws you near like a moth to a flame. Some time here would help you gather yourself. Then, you’d make up for your weird mood back at the motel with a round of cards and gambling that overly-competitive Barret would try (and fail) to win. Everyone would forget your bad attitude. Everyone would move on. You would move on.

Yeah. You just needed to get Cloud’s hands off your mind.

Sinking down into the sand several feet away from the lapping waves, you let the wind cool your nerves. You busy your mind with making errand lists, thinking about the group’s next stop, mending the tear in your shirt, the works. For a while, it actually helps.

“You like the beach, too?” You’re startled out of your thoughts by someone coming up beside you. Aerith has appeared at your right, grinning out at the water as she tucks her dress beneath her to sit. “I’ve been telling Barret we should have a beach day, but nobody wants to put their weapons down for a second!”

“I don’t think we’re in a position to enjoy a day at the beach, Aerith.” You chuckle, tossing some sand into her lap.

She huffs but doesn’t deny you, gently shaking off the skirt of her dress, “Perhaps... but everyone needs to loosen up. We’ve been on edge for weeks, it’s not good to be this... pent up, you know?” Your eye twitches at her choice of words, and suddenly you feel a chill down your spine, “...I’m assuming that’s what’s up with you?”

“Sure.”

“Come onnn,” the girl shoves you with her elbow, barely moving you an inch, “talk to me. We share a bed! We should share our thoughts too.”

You’re almost certain that Aerith would want nothing to do with your thoughts if she knew what they really were. How could you tell her about your measly, insignificant, basically-not-even-worth-talking-about crush on Cloud (or rather, his hands, because that was as much as you were allowing yourself to entertain right now) without her making it a big deal? At the moment, you were very satisfied with the opposite.

You also know that she won’t let up when she feels she’s got her hook in a good catch, and so you choose your next words carefully, “I’m just getting used to all this. Being a vigilante, being on the run, all that.”

“But weren’t you already part of Avalanche? This shouldn’t be new to you.”

“I was, but... I had always seen myself staying in Sector 7. Never leaving. I’d do my part from home where it was safe and charted territory. Now, I’m with you guys, and while I’m having a blast-”

“You never expected it to get this far. I understand how you feel. I never thought I’d be doing this either. It all seems so fun! Like an action movie, you know? But our lives and the planet are on the line... it’s a big ask for all of us to try and protect that.” Wise as ever, Aerith manages to top her reply off with a pout, “Would you like to go home?”

You shake your head, then rest your chin on your knees. You feel bad for hiding behind your homesickness in order to save face, but it is shockingly therapeutic to get it out, “I miss home but... I like you guys more. I mean, only an idiot would pass up a chance like this.”

Aerith giggles, “Glad to hear it! We would all be very sad if you didn’t stay. Some more than others.”

You raise a brow, “What? Like you?”

“And others.”

That catches your attention for sure.

You raise your head and turn to Aerith, facing her fully, watching the way the sunset behind you both frames her cheeks in a knowing, pink glow. There’s a tiny smile on her face that speaks volumes that you unfortunately cannot understand. “Aerith-”

The girl suddenly jumps up from the sand, brushing off her dress, “Would you look at the time!” She shouts, startling some other beachgoers nearby. She points toward the sun, “We should get back before nightfall. Wouldn’t want to get lost, would you?”

You frown, trying to decipher her meaning, “I’ll catch up later.”

Aerith just winks at you and walks away. “Don’t be late!”

An hour has passed before you start making your trek back, hoping that Aerith wouldn’t be too upset with you for being out so long. At least now you could say that your head was much clearer than it was hours ago. Maybe after a nice night’s rest, you would be in a better mood.

Whatever progress you’d managed to accomplish quickly dissipates the second you turn the corner.

Standing up against the brick wall of a closed bakery, you recognize Cloud’s silhouette instantly. He’s in his usual getup, buster sword and all, and is illuminated by a nearby streetlight that turns his hair molten gold. He’s got one leg crossed over the other, same with his arms, and his eyes are shut as if taking a nap. Stepping closer to the ex-SOLDIER, he rouses to attention, blinking at you calmly, “Wanted to walk you home.”

Did he have to be so dreamy looking when he said that? “...Oh, Cloud, I didn’t know you... did Aerith make you come out here? How long have you been waiting?”

He ignores the real question completely, pushing himself off the wall and nodding for you to follow him, “Aerith didn’t make me do anything. Feeling better?”

Not anymore is what you want to say, but in order to keep the spotlight off you, you just nod, “Sort of. I’m sure I’ll feel better in the morning. It’s just one of those things.” Cloud makes sure to keep that same foot of space between you even as you itch to break it.

He hums, “I was going to ask if you wanted to spend time with me in the morning.”

“W-With you?” If you weren’t already concerned about your mental state around Cloud, you’d honestly mistake the warm lighting of the city for a blush on his cheeks. Whatever it is, he refuses to look you in the eyes as you both continue to walk.

“I need a sparring partner. We haven’t really had time to practice in peace for a while. Might be good for us. Could learn about each other better. Maybe take your mind off whatever’s bothering you.” Learn about each other’s bodies better, more like.

Perhaps he’d realized you were frazzled about the manhandling the other day? Maybe he wanted to get you used to it in a controlled setting? “That’s a great idea, Cloud,” you shoot him a nervous smile, “I’m sure-”

You don’t have time to react when Cloud suddenly yanks you toward him by the waist, only for a cyclist to rush by with a half-assed apology thrown your way. You don’t know whether to be pissed that they were biking on the sidewalk or focused on the very real lack of space between you and Cloud right now. His fingers twitch on your lower back and you quite instantly make your decision.

Your arms are tucked awkwardly against his chest while he’s got his left arm snug around your hip and his right hand bracing against the wall behind you to keep from crushing you against it. The proximity only freaks you out for a moment, and then you find yourself subconsciously leaning into the touch with a whimper of a “thank you” slipping past your lips, not at all inclined to move.

Cloud stares down at you with those giant, brilliant eyes of his, muttering a “no problem” even as he makes no move to release you. You can’t tell if it’s stranger that you aren’t pulling away yet or that you’re perfectly fine he hasn’t pulled away either.

Curses. As soon as you thought that, you feel his hand peel from your back so that you can stand upright on your own two feet, “Sorry,” he whispers, “it was quicker to grab you-”

“Don’t apologize for that.” You blurt out before you can review how that might sound coming from you, all flushed and still invading his personal space, “Feel free to... uh, I mean, I don’t mind if you touch... me. Sometimes.” You really could have said all of that better.

At least you know for sure now that there is a definite blush on his cheeks, “Sure thing,” he stammers, actually stammers, “same here.”

Well, you weren’t as bold as Tifa and Aerith, but if he was giving you permission...

You hook your arm around his before you can talk yourself out of it, spurred on by the adrenaline in your veins, “Probably best we stick a little closer to each other in case someone tries to mow me down again.”

Cloud does not refute your reasoning at all, taking care not to crush your hand at his bicep against his side. The added tingly feeling trickling down his skin where you touch him isn’t unwanted, after all.

You had never slept better and it shows in how Cloud stumbles back from a hit in shock, “Not bad.”

You grin over your balled fists and let them fall to your side as he walks back to the center of the fighting ring, adjusting the gauze wrapped around his wrists. His signature gloves have been removed in order to give you a fair fight, and you can’t say that you despise the look of his bared hands to you at all. Even layered in white. “But don’t you think Tifa would be a better boxing partner?”

Cloud flashes his eyes at you with a tiny, nervous laugh, a rarity to see from the ex-SOLDIER, “Tifa would put me in a coma. You’re the only other person who likes to fight melee style, so it makes sense that we’d train together.”

“Okay, but you have the advantage of being ex-SOLDIER. I’m just some backwater rebel.”

An unreadable look crosses his face as he shakes his head, “I’m rusty. You’ve seen my sword. I rely on it too much.”

He had a point. The thing was riddled with scars, double the amount of the man who wielded it. Your bat was starting to look the same for you as well.

“And,” he starts, getting back into a fighting stance, “you’re not just some backwater rebel.”

You trade a few blows instead of answering him, although your heart skips a beat at how he tries to defend you.

The small gym is scarce this early in the morning, save for the obvious early birds who make coming here their personality. You still had some energy left, but since you’d both been sparring for a good hour now, that energy was waning... unlike your partner.

You blamed it on the mako, but he looked like he could go several more rounds with or without you. You imagined what it would be like to be inside Cloud’s body. You’d heard what mako could do to one’s senses, let alone humanity. You imagined that he felt everything ten times as much as the average person and twice as fast, which made him an invaluable teammate and daunting foe. You had seen Cloud when he was really angry before. Needless to say, you never wanted to go up against him as an enemy.

Thanks to his experience however, he knows how to temper his strength to spar fair. He never truly overwhelms you unless you slip up. A misstep, a distraction... the latter of which were abundant when Cloud was inches away from you.

Skin covered in a sheen of sweat, he practically glows under the gym’s fluorescent lights. Blow after blow, you take them in stride, trying your best to keep focused on his next move. You’d only managed to catch him off guard twice today, and if you could manage a third before he called it quits, you’d be satisfied with yourself. Now, to distract him.

Cloud was fairly good at seeing through ruses, but growing up as a “backwater rebel”, you knew how to play tricks on the eyes. Most of your tricks were foiled by Cloud immediately because he wasn’t exactly dense, but those past victories weren’t anything to sneeze at. If you were going to pull this off, you had to be smart about it.

Cloud’s fist connects with the side of your head and his eyes shoot open wide. He’d surely given you enough time to react to that, right? He’s proven wrong when you double over, gripping your head with a cry of pain. “Shit. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

Then, just as you’d planned, you wrap your arms around his middle and knock him off balance, throwing him to the ground of the ring with relative ease. You scramble up his body as soon as he’s knocked over, taking his wrists in yours and pressing them down beside his head with a grin, “I only half-thought you’d fall for that one, you know.”

The ex-SOLDIER looks somewhere between exasperated with you and impressed, letting you pin his wrists if only for a moment to catch his breath, “That was cheating.”

“Was not! In a real fight, anything goes.”

“Oh, I had no clue this was a real fight. I could have finished you off an hour ago.” He deadpans, writhing experimentally underneath you.

You tilt your head to the side, “You think I wouldn’t have knocked your ass out like a home run before you could even get that sword off your back? You give yourself too much credit.”

Or, maybe not.

You let yourself get so caught up in the banter that you don’t process his next move quick enough: he thrusts his thighs apart at once, effectively knocking off your balanced straddle. Shifting his hands to gripping your own in each, he uses the force of his core to twist you onto your back. Only this time, you know there’s no chance of you catching him off guard the way he did you. Those thighs of his were immovable.

“For your information,” he leans down with the barest hint of a smile on his face, “I earned that credit. Cute trick, though. Might work better on the next guy.”

Oh, how you’ve fantasized about this very moment. You’re getting more than just his hands on you: you’re getting all of him on you. And, if you were honest with yourself, even if did have the chance to knock him off you, you weren’t in any rush to make it happen.

Could Cloud see the way he was affecting you? Maybe he’d learned how to hide it and this was all just a joke to him. You weren’t by any means an expert at keeping a straight face in his presence.

“Who said getting you pinned down was the only part of my strategy?” Your attempt at bravado does nothing to sway him this time either. Figures; it was a cheap trick anyway.

“What else did you have in mind?”

Honestly, this was already fulfilling your wildest dreams and then some. You’d be going home a happy camper for sure. Instead of answering his question, you look up to where your hands remain intertwined, “You have really nice hands.”

Cloud furrows his brows, “Huh...?”

You gulp, realizing that you’ve exposed your neck to look up at said hands, and that same fantasy from nights ago comes back to mind. Even if he wasn’t wearing the gloves in question, it still skyrockets to the forefront of your brain like a reflex. “Yeah. I don’t know why you hide them in those gloves of yours all the time. They’re rough but they still look delicate. Maybe it’s a... SOLDIER thing? Really nice hands in exchange for mako poisoning?”

He laughs in disbelief, peeling away from you to examine his own hands with curiosity, “I think it’s just a you thing, but thanks. Ready to call it a day?”

Your fatigued body is screaming yes, even as your hands itch to be pinned back down by Cloud’s again. Maybe you’d have to put those backwater tricks to use again. “Aching to.”

Perhaps Cloud’s tendency to roll over and show his belly whenever Tifa and Aerith poked him had now extended to you too. That classic foot of space between the two of you gradually broke in half over the next few days, and on the rare occasion that Cloud had to manhandle you during battle, you had a much more receptive reaction that your initial one. You didn’t abuse your newfound permission to touch Cloud, so when you did get those little moments, you found that Cloud was more than willing to comply.

And so did Aerith. Actually, so did everyone.

“It took me nearly all night to convince Cloud to high-five me when we first met, and somehow you’ve managed to halve that.” Aerith pouts, watching as you continue to knead the meat of Cloud’s palm. After he’d complained of it cramping up in battle, you had offered your novice knowledge of massage (and jumped at the chance to have his fingers between yours again).

It had been a hot minute since Tifa left to get dinner, and if the grumble of Red’s belly was any sign, her presence was dearly missed. It seemed you all were always waiting around for food these days. It beat waiting around for Shinra, at least.

You look up at Aerith over the crowded breakfast table, the girl in the midst of a heated card game with Barret, “What do you mean?”

“Kid wouldn’t let anyone touch him,” Barret grunts, “‘cept Tifa for the longest time.”

Cloud’s head is thrown back over the back of his chair, arm resting comfortably in your lap as you massage his hand as he quips, “I’ve known Tifa longer than I’ve known any of you.”

“Still!” Aerith pouts.

“I can give you a hand massage too, Aerith. Twirling that staff around all the time can’t be good for your joints.” You offer with a smile.

At that, Aerith lights up and nods. At the same time, she sets down a pair of cards that has Barret dropping his head into his hands in defeat. “Hey, do you know Madam M by any chance?”

At the mention of the name, you feel Cloud stiffen in his seat. “Can’t say that I do...?” You answer, confused.

“She runs a pretty fancy massage parlor up at Wall Market in Sector 6. Me and Cloud went to her for help getting us into Don Corneo’s bridal auditions,” you let all of that information hit you at once in order to keep up with her, “she was going to kick us out since we hadn’t come for a massage, but one look at Cloud and her tune changed real quick. She gave him a hand massage to remember! I don’t think he’s been the same man since that night.”

“Aerith.” Cloud hisses through his teeth, no intended malice present but a fair warning for her not to continue. All the girl does is grin right back at him. You try not to shiver at the commanding tone.

“He got the luxury package since we had enough gil for it-”

“Yeah?” You ask, thoroughly interested. Your hands hadn’t paused as they continued to massage Cloud’s hand, even as he began to squirm in your grip.

“Aerith!”

“-I thought I might need to leave the sector, he was so loud-!”

“I’m back!” Tifa’s entrance shocks you all out of the conversation, something Cloud was entirely thankful for. The ex-SOLDIER jumps up to retrieve the food from Tifa’s hands and busies himself setting out everything, encouraging Tifa to ramble about the townspeople she encountered on her way back from the restaurant. It isn’t until he’s sat beside you with dinner that you notice the hand you were massaging trembles just so.

“I hope you don’t think... that massage thing was creepy.”

Cloud corners you after dinner as you clean up the mess, the others immersed in a much more competitive card game than the one from earlier. You drop the food boxes off at the kitchenette with a smile, “Of course I don’t think that! Your hand was in pain. It didn’t hurt me any to help.”

“Right,” he mutters, looking adorably bashful, “but I don’t want you to think that I was getting... something else out of it.”

“I would never think that of you, Cloud. I offered it in the first place after all.” You assure, though you can’t help wishing that perhaps he did get something else out of it. After all, you wouldn’t mind if he felt just as eager about having you touch him as you did.

He looks a little relieved, still avoiding eye contact, “Well... Thanks. For earlier. My hand feels a lot better.”

You nod, watching as he turns to rejoin the others at the table for their next round. However, before he can get very far, you call out to him, emboldened by the gods or desire or the hopeful look in Cloud’s eyes when he turns back to you, “Just... if you ever want to get something else out of it, let me know.”

Cloud calls it an early night.

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