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As Tifa was walking, she felt a hand slide into hers and squeeze her hand. She looked beside her to see Aerith looking forward, an innocent smile on her face.
“Aerith?”
“Hmm?”
Tifa flushed and shifted her eyes to the road ahead. “I-It’s nothing,” She stammered, wanting nothing but to yell about how nice it felt with Aerith’s hand in hers. She gently squeezed back before tugging Aerith along, missing the blush on Aerith’s cheek.
Tifa and Aerith had been closer much recently, Cloud thought as he walked behind the group. The two stuck together like glue, even in combat with Tifa in the front and Aerith casting spells behind her. They were practically inseparable. Often Cloud would see the two holding hands as they walked, laughing and giggling about whatever they could talk about.
So it was weird when Tifa was walking in the front while Aerith walked beside him on their way to find an inn after a day of exploring the area.
Without her noticing, Cloud peeked at Tifa’s expression, noticing the slight crease of her eyebrows and a small frown. Glancing beside him, he saw Aerith walking with a bounce in her step, but she wasn’t focused and kept her eyes on the ground.
Did something happen between them?
Cloud felt more questions build up in his head. He shouldn’t meddle in other people’s business, but this was Tifa and Aerith. The entire day felt weird without Aerith’s peppy chatter and Tifa giggling along with her. Cloud would even admit he missed the noise, although reluctantly.
What if he misread the situation and got everything wrong? Cloud knew he wasn’t the most emotionally intelligent. What if he just misunderstood? That’d make everything between him and the girls awkward.
Ah, screw it. It was better to have asked and suffered the embarrassment than to suffocate in silence. Clearing his throat quietly, he got Aerith’s attention.
“Something… happened between you and Tifa?” He asked, keeping his voice low.
Aerith blinked and looked from the ground to Cloud, “No…?” Seeing the look in Cloud’s eyes, she sighed and put her hands behind her back. “Fine, yes. Something happened.”
“Argument?”
Aerith shook her head slowly, her braid swinging along with her head, “I’ll tell you when we get to an inn.”
An hour later, the group arrived at a nearby village. Cloud told the rest to explore the area and to collect intel. He led Aerith to a bench and sat down, crossing his arms.
Aerith sat beside him and let out a sigh. “I think I made Tifa uncomfortable,” Aerith said quietly, her voice lacking her usually chipper.
Wow, Cloud did not expect seeing Aerith that down would make him feel weird. “What’d you do?” He asked, looking at her.
“I…” Aerith sighed again and let out a frustrated sound, swinging her legs. “This morning before we packed up, I went to hug Tifa, since she likes them. Or at least I think she does. But this time, she just pushed me away! Did I do something wrong, Cloud?” She looked at Cloud with big pleading eyes, biting her lower lip.
Cloud blinked slowly and exhaled slowly. “I dunno. I thought she was used to you tackling her at this point.”
“Hey! They’re called hugs.” Aerith pouted and sighed again. “I should probably talk to her about it… But what if I make things even more awkward?”
Cloud stood up and looked at Aerith, “I’m sure I’m not the right person to ask about this. But just ask her. Make it straightforward so she can’t misinterpret what you’re saying. I’m going to get our rooms at the inn. We’re only taking 2 rooms tonight.”
“Don’t we have enough Gil to make that 5 rooms?” After a moment, Aerith tilted her head and widened her eyes, lightly hitting Cloud’s arm with her hand, “You little…You think you’re so smooth, huh? Setting me up like this…”
Cloud huffed, “Don’t know what you’re talking about. We need to save our money.” Walking into the inn, he left Aerith at the bench, pondering what to do.
Cloud stepped out of the inn and waved his hand to get Aerith’s attention. “Your key to the room for tonight.” He tossed the key to Aerith who caught it clumsily, “Don’t make too much noise. Barret gets cranky when he can’t sleep.”
Aerith looked at the key and up at Cloud, “Thanks, Cloud. I owe you.” Cloud shrugged and left the area, looking for the others.
Aerith got up and looked around, spotting Tifa near a cafe looking into the display of cakes. Hesitantly, she stepped towards the younger girl, forcing a smile on her face.
“Heya.” Aerith stood next to Tifa, looking into the display. The cakes suddenly became very interesting. “Hungry?”
“Huh?” Tifa jumped, startled as she heard Aerith’s voice beside her. She nodded slowly, “Y-Yeah. Just a bit.”
“Well, let’s go! You’re not going to get full by staring at the food.” Aerith grinned at Tifa and walked to the entrance.
Tifa tilted her head and felt a pang in her chest. Usually, Aerith would drag her by grabbing her wrist, her grip just right. Did she do the wrong thing by pushing her away?
Hurrying after Aerith, Tifa opened the door for Aerith and walked inside, looking at the menu. Aerith hummed, “Huh, they have a lot of drinks. I’ll take…”
“A iced latte. Right? With extra sugar.” Tifa finished Aerith’s sentence as she looked at the menu.
“How did you know?” Aerith stared at Tifa, surprised. She didn’t expect Tifa to know what she liked to drink.
Tifa looked down bashfully at her shoes, “Y-You talked about it before.” Growing increasingly shy, Tifa stepped ahead. “I’ll go buy our drinks. Go ahead and find a seat.”
Aerith giggled to herself and found a table at the back. It was secluded and cozy, not too quiet to the point Aerith could hear herself breathing, but just enough that it felt comfortable.
A few minutes later, Tifa set the drinks before Aerith and sat across her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Aerith raised an eyebrow, “No cake?”
“Just a coffee is enough.”
“But coming to a cafe and not having cake is…is like not putting butter on your toast! It’s good, but it can be better.” Aerith pouted before getting up and purchasing a slice of strawberry and chocolate cake, pushing the chocolate cake to Tifa.
“Eat.”
“But-”
“Who’s the older one here?” Aerith looked into Tifa’s eyes with a knowing grin, knowing she couldn’t refute what she said. Tifa sighed and picked up the fork. “Fine. But let me pay you back.”
Aerith happily took a bite of her strawberry cake, smiling at the sweetness of the dessert. “Nope! With how many odd jobs we took, if we combined all our money and bought a house at Costa Del Sol, we’d still have enough to live comfortably for a few months before working again.” Aerith grinned, “But…I won’t say no to a date,” She teased, watching Tifa’s face flush red.
“But…this feels like a date, so you have nothing to pay me back,” Aerith playfully winked and took another bite. “Just the two of us, sitting in a cafe eating cake and drinking coffee…how romantic.”
Tifa blushed even more and bit her lip, “I-I…” She stammered, unable to form words.
Aerith giggled before remembering what she wanted to talk about with Tifa. “There’s…something I wanted to discuss.” She ran her finger along the sides of the cup, feeling the cold surface cool her down. “Did I do something wrong this morning?”
Tifa jumped from the sudden change in topic, looking at Aerith. Shaking her head quickly, Tifa looked up into Aerith’s eyes. “It’s not you. It’s me, “ She said apologetically.
Aerith felt relief seep into her system, but she still wasn’t completely convinced. “Really? Sure it’s not because I overstepped any boundaries?”
Tifa shook her head again. “It’s stupid. N-Not you, I mean. Just what I’m feeling right now.” She sighed and finished her slice of cake.
Aerith hummed, “Anything I can help you with?” She took another bite of her cake, “Oh! Want to try a bite of mine? I don’t think I can finish it.”
Tifa flushed again before nodding slowly.
Aerith giggled and cut off a piece with her fork, holding it before Tifa’s mouth. “Say ah!”
“W-Wait Aerith-” Tifa barely had time to breathe before Aerith gently fed Tifa the piece of cake. “Good?” Aerith murmured, pulling the fork out of Tifa’s mouth slowly, silently enjoying the look of shock and embarrassment on her face.
Tifa nodded slowly to Aerith’s questions and stood up, pushing her chair under the table. “It’s getting late. L-Let’s head to the inn.”
Aerith laughed as she finished the last few bites of her food, following Tifa out of the cafe. “We’re going to be sharing a room. Cloud only got the group 2 rooms.”
She walked a bit before realizing Tifa wasn’t beside her. Looking behind her, she saw Tifa standing still, staring blankly at nothing.
“Tifa? Are you okay?”
“W-What?” Tifa shook her head, blinking. She jogged back to walk beside Aerith, slightly flustered, “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Aerith hummed, “If you say so.” Walking again, she led the way to the inn and entered the room, watching Tifa enter behind her.
“Huh…There’s only one bed,” Aerith remarked as she sat on the bed, “Pretty comfy, though,” She said as she pressed her hand into the mattress, feeling it sink under her touch.
Tifa stood awkwardly by the door, biting on her lip. She was happy to be roomed with Aerith for the night, but this isn’t helping her steadily developing feelings towards the other woman.
“I-I can sleep on the floor.” She suggested while fiddling with her fingers. She felt her face grow warmer.
Aerith pouted slightly, “Nonsense! This bed is big enough for both of us.” Her expression softened, “But if you’re uncomfortable with it then…”
“No, it’s okay.” Tifa shook her head slowly. “I’ll go change take a shower and change my clothes.” Quickly disappearing into the bathroom, she closed the door behind her.
Aerith hummed and changed into sleepwear, deciding to take a shower the next day. Her legs were tired and aching from walking for so long. Kicking her boots off, she flopped onto the bed with a sigh, feeling herself melt into the soft mattress.
“Ah…I gotta take my ribbon off too…” Aerith mumbled to herself as she felt her braid dig into her back. Sluggishly untying the ribbons that held her hair together, she put the materia and ribbons on the bedside table.
She pulled the covers over her and almost drifted to sleep. She forced herself to stay awake by looking around the room and listening to the rustling behind the bathroom door.
Tifa came out of the bathroom a few minutes later in a loose shirt with shorts, hair still slightly damp. Aerith watched as she stretched and sat in the bed, a bit too far from her in her opinion.
“You’re not lying down?” Aerith said quietly, looking up at Tifa. She was so tired she could barely move a muscle, but her arms wanted to hug Tifa close to her while she slept.
Tifa jumped slightly, not expecting Aerith to be awake. “I’ll wait until my hair dries,” She fiddled with the ends of her hair, “I’ll get a headache if I sleep with it wet.”
Aerith observed Tifa a bit more. “Your hands…” She unconsciously whispered, reaching out. She held Tifa’s hand in hers, looking at them closely. She’d never seen Tifa’s hand completely bare, since it was covered most of the time in her fighting gloves. She was sure the last time she saw them bare was when she first met the other girl at Don Corneo’s.
Tifa stiffened at Aerith holding her hand before relaxing, blushing at the feeling of Aerith’s fingers gently prodding her hand, “What about them?” She’d be lying if she said this wasn’t what she hoped would happen when she shared a room with Aerith.
“They’re perfect.” Aerith looked at the calluses on Tifa’s knuckles and despite expecting her hands to be rough, her fingers and palms were smooth. Smooth like the flower petals at her house in Sector 5.
Tifa felt herself become speechless as she watched Aerith trace her fingers over each knuckle so gently and tenderly she could almost feel tears come up to her eyes. No one ever complimented her hand as Aerith did.
“Aerith I…”
“Tifa…? Tifa, what’s wrong?” Aerith sat up instantly as she saw Tifa wipe her eyes with her other hand, starting to sniffle. She frowned softly as she let go of Tifa’s hand, looking at her with concern.
Tifa shook her head, “It’s just…no one’s talked about my hands like that.” She wiped her eyes again, the tears rolling down her cheeks and dropping to her lap, “They only talk about my body and…”
Aerith’s eyes softened, “Can I hug you?” She whispered, to which Tifa nodded frantically. Aerith embraced the younger girl, holding her tight. She rubbed Tifa’s back slowly with her hand and felt Tifa put her head on her shoulder. “Each part of you is perfect, Tifa. Not just your body. Your hands, how you talk, how you treat others, even how you fight. I love all that about you.”
Tifa curled up even more against Aerith, hesitantly wrapping her arms around her. She’d never been so tightly yet so gently before. Aerith’s hug felt warm and safe, like lying in the grass while it was sunny outside.
Returning the hug, Tifa breathed in Aerith’s scent and sighed, relaxing almost instantly with Aerith’s body pressed up against hers.
“Can we lie down?” Tifa asked, tugging Aerith’s sleep dress gently.
Aerith blinked, “But won’t you get headaches? Your hair isn’t dry yet.” She ran a hand through Tifa’s hair, feeling her hand get damp.
Tifa shook her head, “Don’t care,” She mumbled, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“Never heard you say that before.” Aerith smiled softly as she maneuvered her body so they were lying down on their sides. Keeping Tifa’s body close, she covered the blanket over them. “Go to sleep. We’re both tired,” Aerith whispered as Tifa snuggled up against her.
Tifa clung onto Aerith as if her life depended on it, “Thanks, Aerith. Love you,” She whispered without thinking. She fell asleep instantly, exhausted from walking today and crying earlier.
Aerith bit her lip to stifle her squeals as she held Tifa closer, pecking her forehead. “Love you too, Tifa.” She mumbled, smiling as she fell asleep as well. She’ll kiss Tifa when she’s wide awake tomorrow.
She’ll have to remember to thank Cloud the next day.