Chapter Text
The first few rays of sunlight had just begun to filter through the blinds when Cloud blinked awake. He took a moment to breathe deeply; gazing up at the thin beams of light that shot across the room like golden thread and sparkled with tiny particles of swirling dust.
Another peaceful morning; another normal day in a normal life – one that they’d more than earned. Birds chirped merrily outside the open window, greeting the daybreak with such enthusiasm that one would think they’d spent their entire lives in the dark.
Cloud stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes; his mind switching rapidly from a state of rest to one of complete awareness – there was no middle ground for a former SOLDIER. His years with Shinra had ensured that he could wake in an instant; ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, usually ripped from a shallow sleep by the piercing shriek of sirens or blaring of alarms. Even after his time with the company had ended, he’d spent nearly a year on the run with Zack, and from what little he now remembered, those days had been equally stingy with opportunities for proper sleep.
And then, of course, there was the rather pressing debacle of the power-hungry maniac with a god complex and the looming destruction of the Planet to consider. Nope…not a whole lot of time for sleeping in during that mess either.
All in all, ‘lazy mornings’ were not a concept Cloud was particularly familiar with or inclined to honour. As far as he was concerned, daylight should be used to its fullest potential whenever possible, and to not do so would be a foolish waste of valuable time. Today was the day he would finally give his motorcycle a much-needed tune-up, and he was pretty sure that his sword might end up turning against him in battle if he didn’t sharpen it soon. There was always something pressing to attend to, it seemed, even in a normal life.
Cloud sighed and started to rouse himself, but as he shifted and made to sit up, he felt slender arms snake their way around his chest – securing him firmly in place.
Cloud smiled softly. “Mind letting me go?” He breathed, not unkindly, and turned his head to glance in her direction.
“Mm-mm.” Aerith’s eyes remained closed as she lazily shook her head in defiance and tightened her hold on him ever so slightly. She looked absolutely angelic as she lay peacefully beside him – the sunbeams framing her in a halo of haphazard hair; a look of utter serenity on her face. She was breathtaking, even now, and Cloud’s heart thudded with a surge of fondness and affection.
Aerith let out a pleased sigh when she felt him relax a little, no longer fighting her grip. She knew he couldn’t refuse her, and she pressed her advantage.
“Iss-Saturday,” she mumbled sleepily and nuzzled her cheek into the pillow. “A girl needs her weekend cuddles after all.”
Cloud smirked and reached over to brush a strand of hair behind her ear – his hand lingering on her cheek. “I usually charge extra for that kind of thing, you know…”
At last, her gorgeous green eyes fluttered open, and she pouted up at him. “You’re a cheapskate, you know…”
Cloud didn’t answer, he simply quirked his lip and used the hand on her cheek to pull her in for a gentle kiss. “Good morning,” he whispered into her lips, and he felt her smile against him.
“Good morning yourself,” she murmured as she pulled back. “Don’t think that acting all sweet is gonna exempt you from cuddle time, mister,” she teased.
For emphasis, she scooted herself closer to him and pressed her face into his chest – her arms still wrapped tightly around him, keeping him right where she wanted him. She inhaled deeply and let out a contented sigh.
Shaking his head in mock exasperation, Cloud relented and gathered her up in his embrace. He lay on his back – pulling Aerith along with him so her head came to rest on his chest, and he could stroke his hand up and down her back.
Truthfully, he didn’t mind burning a little daylight now and then, as long as he got to have Aerith in his arms; there was no place he’d rather be. He let out a long, slow breath and allowed his body to relax into the sheets, soaking in the feeling of having the girl he loved in his arms; the gentle tickle of her hair and her soft breathing on his skin. After how close he’d come to losing her forever, he understood how important it was to cherish these moments of peace.
So, he did. He stroked her back and pressed soft kisses in her hair, breathing in the flowery scent of her shampoo and huffing as a few strands got caught in his nose. Cloud lost track of how long they lay there nestled in each other’s arms, but he soon began to grow a little restless from lack of movement, a nervous habit he hadn’t yet managed to deal with.
He gave Aerith’s shoulder a little shake, and she blinked blearily up at him. Cloud’s heart swelled as he realized that she must have fallen back to sleep in his arms.
“Hey,” she whispered with a serene smile.
“Hey yourself,” Cloud shot back – proud of himself for using her own teasing against her. “I’m still on the clock you know…”
Aerith half-heartedly smacked at his shoulder, then brought her finger to her chin in an exaggerated show of contemplation. “Hmmmm,” she hummed dramatically. “Ok, I’ll let you go on one condition.” Her eyes sparkled playfully, and Cloud couldn’t decide whether to be nervous or excited. Truth be told, it was usually a combination of the two when it came to Aerith.
“What’s that?” He asked – raising one eyebrow at her.
Aerith’s fingers splayed out across Cloud’s chest and traced gentle circles along his skin. “If I let you out of cuddle time, then you have to make me breakfast in bed!”
Cloud rolled his eyes. He knew there was no getting out of this, even if he wanted to. “Pancakes or waffles?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
“Pancakes it is.”
“Yay!” Aerith sprung up to kiss him once more, before finally releasing him from her hold and pushing him towards the edge of the bed. “On the double, mister merc!”
“Yes ma’am.”
“And I want lots of syrup!” Aerith called after him as he made his way to the kitchen, smiling all the way.
Aerith had always known that Cloud was secretly a man of many talents, but she’d still been quite shocked to see the ease with which he swept about their kitchen, making even the most complex dishes with the same effortlessness with which he swung a sword.
When she’d asked him about it, he’d simply blushed and mumbled something about cooking with his mother when he was a kid. Aerith loved it when Cloud blushed – she knew that underneath his hard exterior, he was the kindest, gentlest man on the Planet, and god she loved him for it.
So, when he returned to their room with a steaming tray of fresh pancakes – complete with a pitcher of homemade strawberry syrup – her heart flipped in affection when she noticed that telltale blush on his cheeks once more.
“As the lady requested,” he said ceremoniously, and Aerith giggled at how awkward it came out. Everything about him was adorable and made her want to pounce on him and press him against her and never let him go.
“Why thank you, sir,” she answered graciously with a wink – delighting in making sure that pink tinge stayed right on his cheeks where she wanted it.
As Cloud set the tray down next to her, he rubbed the back of his head and turned as if to leave – sure that now he had fulfilled his weekend duties he would be allowed to disappear into his tasks for the day.
Aerith, however, wasn’t about to let him off that easy, and she smirked as an idea popped into her head. Quickly grabbing the knife and fork from the tray, she sliced off a piece of pancake, making sure to coat it generously in syrup, before clearing her throat.
“Open up, mister.” She said cheerfully, and Cloud turned back to her with a look of utter bemusement on his face – another one of her favourite Cloud expressions, and one that was all too easy to coax forth.
She gave him her best, most radiant and innocent smile, and shook the fork at him insistently. “You don’t expect me to eat all of this on my own do you?”
“Wha-” Cloud began to protest, but he knew from experience that Aerith would get her way regardless of what he had to say on the matter. So, he simply shook his head slightly and sat on the bed in front of her, another small quirk in the corner of his mouth.
Aerith smiled once more as he parted his lips obediently, and wasted no time shoving the entire piece into his mouth, relishing the way his eyes widened as the excessive amount of syrup spilled over his lips and onto his chin.
“Oops,” she giggled as he swallowed with a mighty effort. “Let me get that for you, dear.” And with that, she closed the distance between them and kissed him.
A small noise of surprise escaped Cloud’s lips at the sudden contact, but he soon recovered and kissed her back, cupping her cheek in his hand.
Aerith smiled into his lips, tasting the sweet tartness of the syrup as it mixed with the natural taste of his mouth and tongue, and she devoured him hungrily. Her lips roamed across his cheeks and chin, tongue eagerly licking any remnants of the sticky mess she’d made, before returning to capture his lips once more.
Cloud sighed contentedly into her, abandoning any pretense of being annoyed at her delaying his plans for the day. He parted his lips and Aerith felt his soft, gentle tongue brushing lightly against her own, renewing the tangy taste of syrup in her mouth. Aerith couldn’t help the airy moan that escaped her lips, and Cloud shuddered in response as he moved to deepen their kiss with his free hand tangling into her hair.
She was getting carried away by this sweet, gentle, intoxicating man, and as much as she would have loved to let him continue, she didn’t want to let all his hard work in the kitchen go to waste, so she pulled back.
Cloud pouted a little as his head involuntarily drew forward to chase her lips when she moved away, and Aerith giggled.
“Thought you had other things to do today,” she said with a self-satisfied smirk, finally cutting herself a piece of pancake and nearly squealing in delight at the fluffy sweetness. He really was an amazing chef – seems like he took Chocobo Sam’s words about seeking new experiences to heart.
“Oh, I uh…right.” Cloud was flustered, and blushing, and completely adorable, and it took all of her self-control not to throw the tray of food onto the floor and leap on top of him.
Later, she thought to herself, even as she made a show of sticking her tongue out to run it along the piece of pancake she had brought to her lips. She couldn’t help it. The way his eyes focused on her movements and simmered with equal parts desire and awkwardness never failed to make her stomach flip.
“So,” she prompted after swallowing her mouthful. “What’s my merc got on his schedule today? Bandit raid? Florist duty?” She winked at him and he smiled at the memory of their first days together.
“Well, I was planning on working on Fenrir until I was rudely interrupted several times.” Cloud’s eyes glinted playfully as he made a noble effort to put up a front of annoyance.
Aerith placed a hand to her chest in mock outrage and let out an indignant gasp. “Oh! Who would dare do such a thing? Don’t they know who they’re dealing with? None other than Cloud Strife, the famous and invincible flower boy!”
Cloud rolled his eyes, and the pair fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds the clinking of cutlery as Aerith eagerly wolfed down her food. Occasionally she would insist on feeding him more, but let up on the syrupy teasing, figuring that there was only so much that the poor man could handle, and she didn’t want him exploding just yet.
When all was said and done, and Aerith hummed in contentment as she lay her fork and knife down on the empty plate, Cloud promptly whisked the tray away to the kitchen. Aerith smiled when she heard the water running – another one of Cloud’s quirks was that he always felt the need to clean up immediately and would get agitated if dishes were left unwashed.
A few minutes later he returned, wiping his hands with a towel and looking at her expectantly as if demanding to be set free from his servitude.
“Oh ok fine, go work on your bike, mister. You have my permission.” Aerith watched as relief bloomed across his face, but she wasn’t offended. She knew how much his schedule meant to him, and how anxious he became if he wasn’t able to finish what he set out for himself. In a way, it made her feel even more special that he was willing to delay everything just to make her breakfast.
“You can help, you know…if you want.” Cloud spoke nervously, suddenly bashful.
“Really?” Aerith inquired incredulously – he’d never asked her for help with bike maintenance before. “It’s ok Cloud, if you want to do it by yourself, I really don’t mind!”
“No,” he stated firmly, a fresh blush staining his cheeks. “I want you to.”
Aerith giggled and hopped out of bed, bounding across the room to plant a kiss on Cloud’s flushed cheek.
“Lead the way then, mister merc.”