"I think it's a cute one." She smiled at him, stepping back so he come come in.
"And I might keep using it." Maybe. No promises.
"Feel free to sit at the table- or the couch. That's new." She was happy to have it, for people to sleep on or hang out on. It made the space a little crowded, but it didn't matter.
"Course you might." He doesn't really mind it, though. Not from her, anyway.
"Huh. So it is." He does, in fact, take a seat on the couch, since she went out of her way to point it out.
He wrestles for a moment with the question of whether to just come out and say it right away, or wait until she brings the drinks and sits down. He opts for the latter, ultimately.
"It helps that you're always sunny, all the time."
She winked at him, before she drifted over to the kitchen to make the coffee. Once it was done, she came over with the two mugs on a tray, with milk and sugar for him to choose to doctor his coffee. She already did it for herself.
"Here you go." She set the tray down, and took up her own cup to sip, waiting for Cloud to speak.
He puts nothing in his coffee, just picks up the mug and inhales the coffee's scent for now. "Thanks. So...you wanted me to keep you in the loop about...developments, and, well. There's been one." Several, really, but they all basically boil down to this one.
"That time you told Sephiroth to take me on a date - which I can't believe you did - he actually did it. And then I guess we went on a few more, and...now we're doing that...officially."
Cloud watches her, not sure what to expect. On the one hand, she's been concerned about him getting closer to Sephiroth since pretty much the beginning. On the other, she was the one who told Sephiroth to ask him out.
"Y-yeah." Cloud himself used the 'b'-word first, when they made things official, but hearing someone else apply it to them makes his cheeks flush faintly.
Then it's his turn to sip his coffee to give himself a moment for gathering his thoughts.
"You mean...after the Barge? Think it's a little premature to be planning anything like that when we're both stuck here for the foreseeable future." A pause. "But if I graduate first, I'm not going anywhere until he's ready to leave, too. Promised him that, and I meant it."
At least it was the pair of them being flustered, not just one. Though it seemed for completely different reasons.
Maybe she should have been more careful in making suggestions in the future, playful or not.
"It's be too soon to think of- well. After the Barge, I think. I was thinking more- the upcoming weeks and months while you're both working towards graduating."
Cloud would stay for Sephiroth. She could feel her stomach doing flip flops and churning in anxiety. She'd known they'd kissed. Known they'd...Likely do more. Had done more, she was certain.
"I was thinking more...dating stuff. And where you want this to go. Like- if you want a marriage."
The 'm' word makes him almost choke on his most recent mouthful of coffee. He manages to swallow it and clears his throat once or twice before he replies.
"Why does that keep coming up?" Okay, maybe because of the ring, but still. "No, I - it hasn't even been two weeks, it's way too soon to think about...any of that."
He looks down into his cup thoughtfully. "...I told Angeal, too. He had some good advice. Between me and Sephiroth, neither of us did much really living life before the Barge. Sure as hell never dated anybody before. So Angeal said we should take it slow. Not rush into anything. Give ourselves time to explore who we really are, y'know? Plus..."
He and Aerith still haven't really spoken about why exactly Cloud ended up as an inmate, or about the spiral he was in even before geostigma caught up to him. But considering her own experiences on the Barge and the way she and Cloud have restarted their friendship, maybe she'll understand anyway.
"Never been any good at living in the present. When I was younger, all I could ever think about was the future. Then, after Meteorfall, couldn't stop getting lost in the past. Regrets and what-ifs, trying to deal with all those memories that came back in the Lifestream and everything that happened. And Sephiroth...after all this time on the Barge, he forgot how to want anything, or believe in anything. He's separated himself from his past, but he doesn't see any future for himself, either." Cloud shakes his head. "Both of us suck at being there for what's right in front of us. So we agreed we'd try to figure out how, together."
He seems to realize how much he's said and pauses to take a self-conscious sip of coffee. "Anyway, point is, I don't wanna plan or decide anything like that yet. Wanna just experience what we've got now, try to live in the moment."
She was politely baffled, but she took a sip of coffee. She was mostly wondering how serious it was. Cloud didn't do love with anything but utmost seriousness, as far as she knew.
But...it did sound right. Cloud not living in the here abd now, no more than Sephiroth had. And knowing that things were not on the romance fast track made her relax and take in a deep breath.
"I think...you two have the right idea. There's a lot to appreciate in the present. There's no rush for anything. Really...it might be a good time for you to...learn how to enjoy what's going on now, rather than focus on what was and what could be."
She hesitated. Bit her lip. "I know you, and Zack, and Angeal- you're going to always have a different view to Sephiroth than I am. He's a person before he hurt you, and Zack, and...spiraled. But he's someone who hurt people, Cloud. He may have left that behind, but he also left behind a lot of responsibility. He has your blood on his hands. And Zack's, and mine."
Cloud grunts. "Mostly just Sokie." Maybe it just feels like a lot because Sokie is kind of A Lot.
But Aerith is right - Cloud doesn't do love, or anything else, without giving it his all. She probably wouldn't like it if she knew just how serious it is - how, when Sephiroth talked about having Cloud with him for literal eternity, there was a part of Cloud that wanted that, too. How, somewhere deep down, he suspects that he'd never feel entirely whole in a world without Sephiroth in it.
And yet somehow that doesn't at all translate to feeling ready to think about marriage or anything like that. Feelings are one thing, but turning them into something tangible seems like a much bigger deal.
He listens to her concerns, and then he nods slowly. "Yeah. He does. As far as I'm concerned, he's fulfilled the responsibility he had to make things right with me, and I think Zack feels the same way. With you...that's between you and him."
Aerith didn't come across her often, surprisingly. But then, she was mostly in the Greenhouse, and Sokie was not. But that woman...what a force of personality.
But Aerith was far more focused on Cloud, and what this would mean. Should both of them graduate, this would not be the same world if all four of them went home together. The happy ever after wouldn't be the same.
But then, one having her alive and with Zack wouldn't be expected as a happy ever after either.
Her fingers ran over the mug.
"I don't know what will happen between us. I don't know if he even sees me Cloud. Am I even a person to him? Something he has to please to make you and Zack happy?"
She shrugged. "I'm still furious with him and the things he did to you, to Zack, and our world...yes. There's a reason. But my feelings..."
She sighed. "If he hurts you, even gives you a dirty look? I'm going to hit him with a metal chair. Then I'll chop them off."
Cloud snorts quietly. "Yeah, that's her. She's weird and likes to poke her nose into other people's business."
The question about whether Sephiroth sees her as a person gives him pause. "Honestly? Not sure. But the only way to be sure - and the only way to change it - is for you to talk to him. Maybe...for us to talk to him, together. If I was there too, would it help?"
He gives her a small, wry smile at the threats. Oh, he knows what 'they' are. He remembers. "Noted." Then, more serious but somewhat more relaxed, "Thanks, Aerith. For...hearing me out."
"It sounds like someone should give her a firm talking to. Unless...you think she's scary?"
It was a gentle tease. Very gentle. She didn't think Cloud disliked Sokie. Otherwise, he would have had a very different reaction at the mention of her name.
As for Sephiroth...well. She could just about see the slit pupils, and the insanity that had dwelled within, all in her mind's eye.
Aerith bit her lip. "Maybe once I've calmed down. I'm not going to handle this well and won't give him...a proper chance."
Even if she really didn't want to give him a chance, despite the men she cared about most in her life.
She made to take his hand and squeezed. "But...you're welcome. Thanks for telling me."
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"And I might keep using it." Maybe. No promises.
"Feel free to sit at the table- or the couch. That's new." She was happy to have it, for people to sleep on or hang out on. It made the space a little crowded, but it didn't matter.
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"Huh. So it is." He does, in fact, take a seat on the couch, since she went out of her way to point it out.
He wrestles for a moment with the question of whether to just come out and say it right away, or wait until she brings the drinks and sits down. He opts for the latter, ultimately.
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She winked at him, before she drifted over to the kitchen to make the coffee. Once it was done, she came over with the two mugs on a tray, with milk and sugar for him to choose to doctor his coffee. She already did it for herself.
"Here you go." She set the tray down, and took up her own cup to sip, waiting for Cloud to speak.
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He puts nothing in his coffee, just picks up the mug and inhales the coffee's scent for now. "Thanks. So...you wanted me to keep you in the loop about...developments, and, well. There's been one." Several, really, but they all basically boil down to this one.
"That time you told Sephiroth to take me on a date - which I can't believe you did - he actually did it. And then I guess we went on a few more, and...now we're doing that...officially."
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She wasn't sure whether she wanted to drink her sugary coffee just yet, and hearing the news...she felt her stomach drop.
They were together. They were...together. Oh. She swallowed, before picking up her mug and taking a sip to gather her thoughts.
"So you two are...boyfriend and boyfriend? How is...how are you planning to work it out, relationship wise?"
There. She said it without a stammer and without getting emotional. She even had eye contact! It was something.
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"Y-yeah." Cloud himself used the 'b'-word first, when they made things official, but hearing someone else apply it to them makes his cheeks flush faintly.
Then it's his turn to sip his coffee to give himself a moment for gathering his thoughts.
"You mean...after the Barge? Think it's a little premature to be planning anything like that when we're both stuck here for the foreseeable future." A pause. "But if I graduate first, I'm not going anywhere until he's ready to leave, too. Promised him that, and I meant it."
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Maybe she should have been more careful in making suggestions in the future, playful or not.
"It's be too soon to think of- well. After the Barge, I think. I was thinking more- the upcoming weeks and months while you're both working towards graduating."
Cloud would stay for Sephiroth. She could feel her stomach doing flip flops and churning in anxiety. She'd known they'd kissed. Known they'd...Likely do more. Had done more, she was certain.
"I was thinking more...dating stuff. And where you want this to go. Like- if you want a marriage."
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"Why does that keep coming up?" Okay, maybe because of the ring, but still. "No, I - it hasn't even been two weeks, it's way too soon to think about...any of that."
He looks down into his cup thoughtfully. "...I told Angeal, too. He had some good advice. Between me and Sephiroth, neither of us did much really living life before the Barge. Sure as hell never dated anybody before. So Angeal said we should take it slow. Not rush into anything. Give ourselves time to explore who we really are, y'know? Plus..."
He and Aerith still haven't really spoken about why exactly Cloud ended up as an inmate, or about the spiral he was in even before geostigma caught up to him. But considering her own experiences on the Barge and the way she and Cloud have restarted their friendship, maybe she'll understand anyway.
"Never been any good at living in the present. When I was younger, all I could ever think about was the future. Then, after Meteorfall, couldn't stop getting lost in the past. Regrets and what-ifs, trying to deal with all those memories that came back in the Lifestream and everything that happened. And Sephiroth...after all this time on the Barge, he forgot how to want anything, or believe in anything. He's separated himself from his past, but he doesn't see any future for himself, either." Cloud shakes his head. "Both of us suck at being there for what's right in front of us. So we agreed we'd try to figure out how, together."
He seems to realize how much he's said and pauses to take a self-conscious sip of coffee. "Anyway, point is, I don't wanna plan or decide anything like that yet. Wanna just experience what we've got now, try to live in the moment."
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She was politely baffled, but she took a sip of coffee. She was mostly wondering how serious it was. Cloud didn't do love with anything but utmost seriousness, as far as she knew.
But...it did sound right. Cloud not living in the here abd now, no more than Sephiroth had. And knowing that things were not on the romance fast track made her relax and take in a deep breath.
"I think...you two have the right idea. There's a lot to appreciate in the present. There's no rush for anything. Really...it might be a good time for you to...learn how to enjoy what's going on now, rather than focus on what was and what could be."
She hesitated. Bit her lip. "I know you, and Zack, and Angeal- you're going to always have a different view to Sephiroth than I am. He's a person before he hurt you, and Zack, and...spiraled. But he's someone who hurt people, Cloud. He may have left that behind, but he also left behind a lot of responsibility. He has your blood on his hands. And Zack's, and mine."
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But Aerith is right - Cloud doesn't do love, or anything else, without giving it his all. She probably wouldn't like it if she knew just how serious it is - how, when Sephiroth talked about having Cloud with him for literal eternity, there was a part of Cloud that wanted that, too. How, somewhere deep down, he suspects that he'd never feel entirely whole in a world without Sephiroth in it.
And yet somehow that doesn't at all translate to feeling ready to think about marriage or anything like that. Feelings are one thing, but turning them into something tangible seems like a much bigger deal.
He listens to her concerns, and then he nods slowly. "Yeah. He does. As far as I'm concerned, he's fulfilled the responsibility he had to make things right with me, and I think Zack feels the same way. With you...that's between you and him."
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Aerith didn't come across her often, surprisingly. But then, she was mostly in the Greenhouse, and Sokie was not. But that woman...what a force of personality.
But Aerith was far more focused on Cloud, and what this would mean. Should both of them graduate, this would not be the same world if all four of them went home together. The happy ever after wouldn't be the same.
But then, one having her alive and with Zack wouldn't be expected as a happy ever after either.
Her fingers ran over the mug.
"I don't know what will happen between us. I don't know if he even sees me Cloud. Am I even a person to him? Something he has to please to make you and Zack happy?"
She shrugged. "I'm still furious with him and the things he did to you, to Zack, and our world...yes. There's a reason. But my feelings..."
She sighed. "If he hurts you, even gives you a dirty look? I'm going to hit him with a metal chair. Then I'll chop them off."
Whatever 'them' was.
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The question about whether Sephiroth sees her as a person gives him pause. "Honestly? Not sure. But the only way to be sure - and the only way to change it - is for you to talk to him. Maybe...for us to talk to him, together. If I was there too, would it help?"
He gives her a small, wry smile at the threats. Oh, he knows what 'they' are. He remembers. "Noted." Then, more serious but somewhat more relaxed, "Thanks, Aerith. For...hearing me out."
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It was a gentle tease. Very gentle. She didn't think Cloud disliked Sokie. Otherwise, he would have had a very different reaction at the mention of her name.
As for Sephiroth...well. She could just about see the slit pupils, and the insanity that had dwelled within, all in her mind's eye.
Aerith bit her lip. "Maybe once I've calmed down. I'm not going to handle this well and won't give him...a proper chance."
Even if she really didn't want to give him a chance, despite the men she cared about most in her life.
She made to take his hand and squeezed. "But...you're welcome. Thanks for telling me."