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POP!

The fireplace cracked as flames threaded their way through the logs Barret had freshly chopped just this morning.

Aerith jumped in the corner of his eye, and he had to bite into his cheek to keep from smiling.

She’d been freezing all day, shivering, bundled in blankets like a swaddled baby. The tip of her nose was stained red, and that redness had spread across her cheeks. None of them had expected a cold front up here in the mountains, even less the six feet of snow that was still trickling from the sky. They’d all managed, dressing in their warmest clothes, but Aerith was . . . struggling.

Cloud bit into his lip for real this time, combatting the smile tugging at his lips.

The pretty Cetra had grown accustomed to the warm underbelly of Midgar and the humidity its steel sky had created. The weather wasn’t quite so predictable out in the elements, nor as cooperative. Aerith wasn’t coping well. At least, not with the snow. 

She’d remarked how pretty it was before the sun had gone down and solidified the soft layer into hard ice. Light had bounced off the pillowy fluff and through the white-covered pine trees, making the world glitter for a while. Aerith had almost been teary when she’d stared out the window at it, but even then, she’d been shaking.

Under nightfall, she was practically her own earthquake. Her entire body shook against the fire, her teeth chattered even as Nanaki curled around her. He had to fist his hands to keep from reaching for her. There was no use worrying about her. What could he do anyway?

The power was out. All the heat she could get was sourced in the fire they were all lounging around. There were no heaters or hot drinks available, and the fireplace wasn’t exactly big enough to boil water. Tifa had made sure to ask the Innkeeper about it at least twice, worried for the girl she might’ve considered her best friend.

Aerith was a trooper though, insisting she was okay, even now as she peeked out from her swaddle of blankets. “Really, I’m ok. I-I think I’m s-starting to get warmer.”

Even with less physical fortitude, she was stronger than the rest of them. He’d always regarded her to be, caught himself envious of her resilience a time or two too many. Anyone could have physical strength with the right training—or in his case, enhancements—mental strength was hard to come by, and even harder to keep intact.

Maybe that was part of the reason he found himself irritated with her sometimes. Her ability to remain bright and level-headed even in the worst situations irked him . . . because he couldn’t do it. It was the same reason he felt so oddly drawn to her. He coveted what she had. He wanted her to teach him that kind of strength she possessed so easily.

“You sure you don’t want my blanket?” Tifa offered, already taking it off her shoulder.

“No, no. I have two already.”—The one from her bed and a spare they’d found—“You keep it.”

Cloud looked behind Aerith at Tifa. Their eyes met. He shook his head. He’d already offered his blanket to Aerith twice. She’d refused it just the same. Saying he needed it more than her. Which was ridiculous because he could actually feel his toes, and he wasn’t sure he could say the same for her.

His eyes rolled just thinking about it. She knew what he was, right? Had the cold frozen over her brain and made her forget? He was a fucking mako-poisoned ex-SOLDIER. He didn’t get cold.

He would admit, this was one of those especially cold occasions where he did need some extra layers, but if she thought he wouldn’t survive without a blanket, she was crazy. And stubborn. And all the annoying things that came with being insanely strong-headed like she was.

“Aerith, you’re barely emanating any heat,” Nanaki piped up. “Maybe take one more blanket.”

Tifa began unwrapping her blanket from her shoulders. “Yeah, I’ll be ok. Really, I—” 

“I’m not taking your blanket, Tifa. You’re c-cold. I s-see you shivering too.”

Cloud ground his teeth, because he could see it too. Tifa was cold. But not as cold as she was. Her damn stubbornness wasn’t going to let her survive the night.

It was astonishing. She’d really let herself freeze to death before making one of her friends cold. She might’ve been stupidly resilient, but she also had no survival instincts. Not a single fucking ounce!

“Then take mine. I’m a big guy. You know I’m fine,” Barret offered for the third time that night, grabbing the blanket that couldn’t cover his shoulders and his feet at the same time.

“You guys, I’m f-fine,” Aerith had the audacity to giggle. To giggle!

It was a hammer to the jar where he’d been keeping his building anger. The glass barrier shattered. His head snapped in her direction.

“You’re not fine,” he spat with more venom than he’d meant to use, but he wasn’t sorry for it either. “You’re just trying to be.”

The room went silent, and everyone’s eyes were on Aerith, on him, flicking back and forth between them both. He didn’t care. His eyes were on hers, taking up the properties of the fire as they burned straight into chilled emeralds. Unlike the logs in the fireplace, she refused to crack.

Her brows furrowed, asking him not to make a scene, to trust her instead. Fine. But he refused to give her the satisfaction of a forced smile like everyone else had as he rolled his eyes away from hers.

Pulling her legs up to her chest, Aerith rested her chin on them. “I’m ok.”

Tifa leaned back, shooting him a soundless question behind Aerith. He could read it right off her face, the words she couldn’t say aloud etched in her frown. Are you ok? Is something wrong? Do we need to talk? No, he didn’t. What he needed to do was keep Aerith ok, which was impossible when the Cetra in need wouldn’t allow him to help.

He was her bodyguard, right? Wasn’t that what she wanted? What she’d practically begged him to be?

His blood burned hotter than the fire.

“You know . . .” Barret elbowed him. He tried not to flinch at the unexpectedly hard jab. “There’s nothing quite as warm as some good ol’ body heat.”

“Ew,” a barely conscious Yuffie grumbled.

Barret laughed; the hardy sound instantly dispelled the tension in the room.

But Cloud wasn’t so amused. He glowered at Barret only to see him wriggle his brow and smirk.

Cloud sighed, staring into the fire in hopes it’d burn up the forbidden images Barret’s suggestion had conjured. She wouldn’t go for it if she was actively hypothermic. And he knew why. Because she felt herself lesser than the rest of them. A burden.

That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

He knew for a fact that Tifa’s spirits would be in the gutter if not for Aerith. And Barret would be spiraling over Marlene’s safety if Aerith wasn’t there to reassure him she was in good hands on a daily basis. Even Nanaki needed someone he could relate with. Aerith had always been that for him, a connection on the deeper level he sought. 

Aerith contributed. Aerith was needed. In ways she’d never understand.

He could go on about how she was quickly becoming a good influence on Yuffie, or how she saw the good in Cait Sith when no one else was able, or how she made him feel hopeful . . . sometimes . . .

But the point was that she wasn’t a burden, and he hated that she felt like one. If she would just be open to his help, maybe he could show her how much value she had.

“It’s a fact. Survival basics—nothin’ will regulate your body temperature like being cuddled up with someone nice.” Barret winked, and Cloud wished he hadn’t seen it in his peripherals.

“I don’t know why you’re looking at me. I’m not the one refusing help.” Cloud’s eyes found hers as she glanced back at him.

“You all have just d-done so much for me already. I can h-handle this.” She sounded sure of herself, believable if not for the fact that he could read right through it. This was just another of her façades she used to mask her pain, to neglect her own needs.

Tifa’s hand landed on Aerith’s arm. “Aerith, none of us want to see you suffer. It’s ok to be cold.”

Leaning down, Tifa whispered something to Aerith. It was too low for him to hear, but he was sure he heard his name. Aerith shook her head, whispering something back. And damn this fucking fire for being the loudest thing in the room.

His head fell back onto the cushions of the couch he was resting against, and he watched the fire’s light dance along the ceiling.

“Cloud?” Tifa chimed. He didn’t look at her. “Is there something you might want to offer Aerith?”

He took a breath deep in his lungs. “I don’t know. Is she going to accept?”

He let his head fall to the right, let his eyes lock with hers. She chewed on her chapped lip, and he licked his own. A quick swipe to wet his suddenly dry mouth.

With the blankets tight around her, and still in ball form, Aerith shimmied around to face him so she wouldn’t have to leave her little cocoon. He would’ve laughed under any other circumstance.

“I’m sorry for being difficult. I just don’t want to—”

“Be a burden. I know,” he finished, never looking away from her.

Aerith blinked, looking stunned, ashamed, touched all at once. If she would just lean into him, he could prove to her how well he really knew her.

“Are you sure you want to help?” It was her last attempt to let him back out. He wasn’t going to.

“I want you to stop shaking.” Cloud leaned forward off the couch to take his blanket off. “So take my blanket. It’s warm and—”

Aerith was out of her cocoon and scurrying into his arms before he could finish his sentence.

Her skin shocked his even through the thin long-sleeve clinging to his upper body. She was so cold it was like having a block of ice in his lap. This wasn’t what he’d meant to offer, but he couldn’t turn her away now. Not when she felt like this.

He spread his legs, placing her between them, and wrapped both arms tight around her. Every trembling muscle in her body seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as she relaxed into him.

Cloud pressed his cheek to her forehead. Anything to provide extra warmth. “Better?”

She wiggled closer, squishing herself into him like she was trying to meld their bodies. He held his breath. “Getting there.”

Warmth. She needed warmth. Heat. As long as he kept focus on that objective everything would be fine.

The floral scent of her hair hit his nostrils. It lingered in his lungs, clouding his head with thoughts of her and lots of body heat. His dick stirred. 

Oh, fuck. Not now. Not now.

Cloud dug his canines into the inside of his cheek, halting the thoughts quickening the rush of blood to his groin. This was not the time, not the place. But damn, the rest of him desperately wanted it to be.

Barret reached over, fixing Cloud’s blanket around the both of them while Tifa came in behind him with Aerith’s blanket, draping it over them too. By the time they were done, Cloud was heavily rethinking his decision to not push her away.

The double-blanket was trapping in more heat than he preferred, and Aerith’s body being plastered to his was a cruel joke on his senses, which were—sadly—hyperaware of every inch of her.

“Told you he’d warm you up.” Tifa patted Aerith’s shoulder and walked back to her seat next to Nanaki.

Cloud watched her all the way, glaring. What the fuck? Had she put Aerith up to this?

Barret stretched, groaning loudly as his joints popped. “Alright, you all. Wake me in the morning. Hopefully, we’ll have power.”

He rolled over, putting his back to them. Tifa mirrored him, rolling onto her side with her head on Nanaki. “Night guys.”

“N-Night,” Aerith replied, nuzzling into his shoulder. In her state, she was far from falling asleep.

Cloud looked around the room, at the backs turned toward them, at Yuffie bundled up in a chair far off in the corner, at Cait Sith powered down on the other side of the room. He couldn’t help but feel, somehow, that this was a setup. Or just a special tactic of torture designed just for him. Bastards. They all wanted to watch him suffer for bringing them to this powerless mountain Inn.

“Cloud?” Aerith whispered. Her breath was warm as it fanned across his neck. Which was good–her body temperature wasn’t low enough to be dangerous–but very bad for . . . him..

“Yeah?” Stray strands of her hair caught on his lips.

“I know this is w-weird, but . . . can I put my hands u-under your shirt?”

It took everything in him not to curse whatever cruel deity had put him in this predicament.

“F-For warmth,” Aerith quickly added.

Steeling every single muscle and tendon that made him up, Cloud gritted his teeth and nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Brace yourself. They’re cold.” Aerith snaked her hands to the hem of his shirt.

Oh, he was bracing. But not for the cold.

Her fingers pushed under his thermal shirt, splaying against his bare skin. The frigid feel of her fingertips did absolutely nothing to lessen the fire that licked up his spine. 

His breath hitched in sharp intakes, his stomach contracting under her touch.

“Sorry,” she breathed. “I tried to warn you.”

He chuckled, but humor was sorely absent in his tone. Silly girl. Thinking the cold would bother him. When what she needed to apologize for was the fire coiling in his gut.

“It’s ok.” He swallowed hard, trying to keep his lower extremities from reacting any more than they already were. He wasn’t hard . . . yet , but he could feel that he’d gotten longer by the way he was repositioned against his zipper.

Then, Aerith did the worst thing she could do. She moaned. Or whimpered? Both. And it did nothing helpful for the growing issue in his pants. The hand on his back pressed deeper into his skin. The one on his stomach clenched like she was trying to grab a fistful of him, indenting his abs with delicious crescents from her nails.

Cloud cleared his throat. “Warmer?”

If she said yes, maybe he could scoot her away, create some distance. Or maybe he could bolt out of the Inn and let the arctic air suck every ounce of heat from his frustratingly well-insulated body.

Aerith nodded. “Somewhat. I’m starting to feel my fingers again.” 

She giggled quietly, but all he felt was the pair of lips he knew to be very pretty brushing his skin as she burrowed into him. His heart sputtered in his chest, and he begged that damned deity laughing at his misery to be merciful, to have not let her hear it.

“Thank you . . . for letting me steal your heat.” The softest hiccup infected her voice. He would’ve missed it if he hadn’t been listening closely. It was impossible for him not to. He was like a radio antenna tuning to every one of her sounds, in constant search of her signal. The soft vibrations of her voice carried over even the fireplace still roaring strong at the head of the room.

“I have plenty of it, you know. The Mako. It accelerates a lot of functions.” Her finger tapped against his stomach and he tried not to feel it in his dick.

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. I forget sometimes. Or maybe I just try to.” The thumb on his back caressed him absentmindedly. “I don’t like thinking of what they did to you.”

He remembered his own hands then, frozen on her arm and side.

“I don’t remember much of it, if it helps.” Ungluing his hands from their “safe” places on her body, he tried moving them a little. To comfort her. Nothing else.

Cloud dragged the ungloved hand on her upper arm up and down. Probably something he should’ve been doing earlier to warm her, but every brush of his skin against hers was charged with something that made his flesh pebble in favorable chills.

At her ribs, he dared to move his thumb, offering her the same caring touch she’d given him.

There was a pause. The thump of his pulse was loud in his ears as he bared the incredible weight of her silence. Had he said too much? Touched her the wrong way?

Aerith popped up, pressing her lips to his cheek. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” She kissed lower down, on his jaw. “But I’m glad it made you warm.”

Despite her problematic lips, he smiled and then hissed when her lips landed on his neck. “Aerith . . .”

He wasn’t sure how her name slipped from his tongue. The air had turned thick, its molecules morphing into a humid substance he could barely breathe through.

While he struggled, the siren trying to drown him just nestled back onto his shoulder like it all meant nothing. Like it was a normal interaction between them—whatever they were to each other.

Except, he could feel her pulse hammering where his hand rested against her ribs. He looked down, glimpsing it pounding away in her throat. She was . . . what? Nervous? Aroused?

Oh, shit. His dick twitched, doing the exact opposite of shrinking.

“Cloud?” She batted those beautiful emerald eyes up at him.

He was lost in them, in the fire reflecting there, in the way her pupils seemed to dilate. It felt almost intimate, how they widened to let him explore their secrets. “Yeah?”

What was the question? He couldn’t remember. Her face was getting closer, and her eyes were on his mouth. He licked his lips, watching hers part.

Their noses bumped, and some sliver of moral implication bounced around his mind like the ball in a pinball machine. He batted it back and forth, unsure what to do with it before it fell into the gutter.

Her lips brushed against his, light as a phantom touch. All the breath in his lungs vanished.

“Aerith . . .” her name tumbled from his lips like a prayer, a longing call for salvation. 

He wanted her to do her worst, to inflict her sweetest torture. He’d beg her if she wanted him to. He’d get on his knees and plead with her to finish him off. If only to show him mercy.

Brows pinching, she whimpered, and then her lips were on his. He caught the last of the sound on his tongue. It traveled down his throat to ignite a hunger unlike anything he’d ever known. This feeling . . . it raged inside him, clawing its way through his veins in attempt to consume him. He wanted it to. He craved it. Craved her.

Cloud groaned into her mouth, his hand tightening around her arm as he fought for control of his head. The more persistent one in his pants was winning out.

Her mouth guided his open. He could do nothing but follow her lead as she wound her tongue around his. It was hot and wet and everything he wanted to devour.

More. More. More.

His hand was in her hair before he realized he’d moved it, holding her to him while he explored her mouth, sucked on her lips, her tongue.

“Cloud,” she moaned, and her hand slithered further up his torso. All the way to the middle of his chest and back down below his navel, she rubbed.

Fuuuuck. He broke away, letting his head hit the couch cushions as he sought much-needed air. Aerith continued to chase it away, planting kisses down his chin and throat.

“Do you want to stop?” she asked, and then proceeded to halt his ability to speak with her mouth around his Adam’s apple. She sucked, flicked the nodule with her tongue, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Which was unsurprisingly offline at the moment, just an empty space echoing nothing but her voice and white noise.

But somehow, he managed to conjure up an answer. “No.”

Wait, no? No? No! They needed to stop. They needed to because there were other people in the room, and if they didn’t stop, he might . . .

“I don’t want to either.” Aerith paved agonizing kisses down his throat’s sensitive column. “So warm . . .” 

His jaw clenched so hard it popped. She was going to kill him.

Wandering fingers grazed the skin just underneath his waistband, and he bucked, grinding into the side of her hips nestled between his legs. And fuck . . . there was no hiding it now. He was painfully hard.

Panicked eyes met hers, an apology positioned on his lips, but she looked . . . greedy. With heavy eyes, flushed cheeks, and mouth puffy from his kisses, she was beautiful. Every doubt in his head faded, and he swallowed his apology back down.

“You can touch me.” The words were not his own but some ravenous version of himself, a more aggressive side of him he’d been possessed by. And it was starving. Longing to take and ravage and claim.

Aerith hesitated, looking over her shoulder at Tifa and Nanaki, around the room at the others with their backs to them.

Cloud kissed down the side of her face, biting softly at her earlobe. “I’ll stop you if they wake up.”

His gut twisted slightly at the lie. The reasonable part of his mind knew he’d be far too preoccupied to keep up with that, but he’d try . . . until he couldn’t anymore. They were under a blanket anyhow, they could come up with a way to play it off.

Aerith must’ve had similar thoughts because her hand slid into his pants and closed around his length.

Cloud’s head went back, and he sucked sharply in through his teeth. No moaning. No–no noises. He couldn’t risk anyone waking up, interrupting. He may not ever have a chance with her like this again. And for some reason, that scared the life out of him.

Aerith made long strokes up to his tip, gathering his precum and using it as lube to slide all the way back down to his balls. His breath hastened under her touch, his chest making embarrassing jumps high and low as she pumped him. Clamping his mouth shut, he tried to steady his breathing through his nose. In, out. In, out. His heart was racing, his blood was rushing into his face, his dick, and it was impossible to think straight.

“Am I doing this right?” Aerith asked, her breath elevated. He peeked down at her chest, watching it bounce to keep up with her lungs.

“Yeah, just . . .” Cloud reached down, taking her hand in his, and squeezed. “Like that.”

Aerith added more pressure, and he was seeing stars. “Like that?”

Burying his noises in the bend of her neck, he nodded. “And then just,” he dragged her hand halfway down his shaft and back up, squeezing her fingers around his tip as they passed it. “Yeah. Yeah, keep doing that.”

She picked up the rhythm perfectly, doing it better than his hand ever had. Her fingers were so soft, her grip gentle yet confident as it moved around him. She didn’t need his direction, but she laced their fingers together, wanting to feel him guide her. To use her to touch himself.

“Fuck, Aerith,” he groaned into her throat, sucking at its ivory flesh.

Using her hand like a lewd toy, he bucked into it. His ass lifted off the floor as he made her twist and squeeze just where he wanted.

“Aerith,” he panted. “Aerith, I’m going to . . .”

He picked up their pace, and she gripped him tight while he pistoned their hands around his swollen head. With one final pulse of his dick, the pressure in his gut released like a wave. His hips thrust out of rhythm as he drenched their joined hands in his pleasure.

Aerith latched her mouth to his, muffling his ragged breaths as he slowly fell back into his body. He was light, levitating in the aftershocks, but also heavy with a serene sort of exhaustion.

His normally tense body relaxed, and Aerith’s lips turned up against his. He couldn’t help but smile back, steal a few lazy kisses.

“Do you think anyone saw?” she whispered, scanning the room.

He didn’t bother looking. The only person that mattered was her. And he wasn’t done with her just yet.

“Probably not.” Wiping his hand off on the blankets, he scooped her up and twisted her so her back was against his chest.

“What are you doing?”

Bending his knees between her legs, he spread them, fanning her legs out on either side of his thighs. “Keeping you warm.”

Aerith bit into her plush lip, muffling a cry as Cloud went under her sweater dress. His fingers crawled up the inside of her thigh, eventually hitting bare flesh after her thigh-high socks ran out of length. He marveled at her softness.

“I’m pretty warm already.”

His fingers halted, trembling against her skin. With any luck, it wouldn’t make its way into his voice. “Do you want me to stop?”

Aerith shook her head. “Not really.”

Cloud dragged his fingers higher, pulse hammering just as hard as hers when he reached a warm, cloth-covered mound. A sort of wetness stuck to the pads of his fingers, and his breath shuddered. He was no connoisseur of female anatomy, but he knew enough to know she was turned on. Because of him, because of what they’d done.

He pressed, dragging his middle finger between her folds, wanting to feel her, to know her body better than she did. Aerith turned her face into his throat. 

He wasn’t sure what he was doing, couldn’t have pictured himself ever touching her so intimately, but maybe that was part of the thrill. Because he wanted to touch her. He wanted to drive her crazy, have her squirming in his lap for more, for release, for him to do it again and again.

He wanted her to . . . to stay. Let him love her and have her love him back. His heart bled for the chance.

That raw desire knotted in his stomach, driving him to be bold, to explore. He couldn’t deny it.

He slipped into her panties. Fuck, she was so wet and warm and ready for him to take. He slid down to her opening, circling it, feeling how it twitched against his fingertip. He itched to go inside, to know how she’d fit around him.

Aerith whimpered. A beautiful little sound he wished she didn’t have to muffle. He pressed his cheek to the top of her head, curling into her. If he couldn’t listen to her sounds, at least he could feel them.

“Can I . . .?” Cloud pushed inside her up to his second knuckle before her hand caught his.

“Wait,” she whispered. He let her guide him, following her lead as she brought his middle finger up and positioned it over a tiny swollen nub. “Rub here first.”

Cloud circled it in delicate motions, feeling like he might break her if he wasn’t gentle.

Aerith’s mouth parted against his skin, her throat letting out little huffs and remnants of moans she failed to catch.

Cloud smirked, figuring he must’ve been doing it right. But he still asked, “Is this ok?”

Mostly because he thrived off her validation.

“It’s amazing,” she whined, giving him just what he wanted. “Press a little harder.”

He did, and her body did something amazing. It arched.

His free hand dug into the meat of her trembling thigh, bracing himself against the urge to flatten her back to the floor and take her. It’d be worth all the therapy bills their friends would send his way.

“Y-You can go in now.” Aerith gave his hand a little nudge downward.

He did as she asked, sliding down to her slick entrance when a thought popped into his head. She seemed to like that little button touched so much, so why didn’t he just . . .

Positioning the heel of his hand over the sensitive nub, Cloud pressed and let his middle finger sink knuckle-deep. Aerith bucked, and a growl-like rumble started deep in his chest. He hadn’t even known he could make that noise, but this girl was bringing out all kinds of things in him.

“That feels good?” Cloud began a rhythm, moving his middle finger in and out like he would’ve moved his dick if it’d been lucky enough to be there.

Aerith slid her hand over his, seating it more firmly against her, and sighed. “So good.”

“Good,” he chuckled, rolling the heel of his palm into her sensitive spot before he plunged his finger deep once more.

And then he felt something . . . weird. Almost like a ball or the tip of a nose? Without question, he rubbed it. The pretty brunette nearly flew off his lap. Her fingers twisted in his shirt, scored down his back. He rubbed that spot again, his insides buzzing as he felt her tightening around him.

“Cloud, ah, Cloud . . .” The vibrations of her cries rippled along his skin, heating him enough to melt the snow.

He kept up his pattern, rubbing that ball thingy inside her and pressing the base of his hand into the small swollen ball outside.

Aerith’s legs left his, curling up to her chest and snapping closed around his arm. Shamelessly, she ground into him, rolling her hips in time with his motions. His heart flipped, tumbled down into the depths of his twisting gut at the sight of her. This beautiful, curled-up Cetra absolutely clinging to him, soaking him in her arousal as he worked between her legs.

She panted into his throat, shaking like her muscles were spent. But the ones between her legs kept squeezing around his finger, tighter and tighter. The tendons in his wrist strained against their force. Screw it. He’d let them break them before he let up on her.

And suddenly, she was convulsing, her teeth latching onto his neck, her legs threatening to snap his arm in half as she contracted around his finger. It was the most satisfiyingly erotic thing he’d ever seen.

Hot pleasure gushed out onto his hand, and his mouth watered at the thought of it landing on his tongue. What would she taste like? Honey? The flowers she tended to so dearly? He wasn’t about to waste his chance to find out.

With a wavering exhale, Aerith’s breath slowed and she unlocked her legs from his arm. “That was so . . .”

Cloud slipped out of her and brought his hand up from under the blankets. Firelight bounced off the translucent desire dripping down his hand. Bringing his thumb to his middle finger, he made little circles, studying the feel. His fingers parted, and a thin string of her juices hung across the gap. He was tempted to catch it on his tongue before it broke, snapping back to either finger like elastic.

“What are you—”

Cloud cut Aerith off, showing her exactly what he was doing by sticking his finger in his mouth.

Her flavor washed over his tastebuds, thick with sugar and heady with something distinctly Aerith. It had been on her skin when he licked it, on her lips when he’d kissed them. And it was in her hair now as he drew her scent into his lungs to heighten the notes of her on his tongue.

Popping his finger from his mouth, he clicked his tongue a time or two as if she was a fine wine to savor. Then he looked down. Her eyes were glued on him, her pupils blown, almost swallowing up the emerald surrounding them.

His gaze hopped back and forth between her eyes for fear of losing himself if he lingered too long on either. “Sorry. I just, uh, really wanted to try that.”

Aerith’s stare dropped to his lips. “Did you like it?”

Cloud leaning in, feeling like a magnet being pulled to a pole. He couldn’t fight it. “Mhmm.”

Aerith must’ve felt it too, because she leaned up. “How did I taste?”

Their lips were a millimeter apart. “So, so sweet.”

Aerith pressed her lips to his, and they were soft and pliant and warm. He melted into her, hugging her close as he snuck his tongue in to play with hers.

Warm. Finally, she was warm.

~

“Cloud.” A distant voice rumbled in his ears.

A very warm body cuddled into his.

Just a few more minutes . . .

“Cloud.” The voice became more insistent, and a boot knocked against his.

He groaned, refusing to open his eyes. “What?”

“Get up. We gotta be out of here by nine,” Barret rumbled.

Aerith stretched against him, and that was his signal that their fantasy hours had passed.

“Oh! The power’s back on.” Aerith sat up.

Cloud opened his eyes to the wooden-shaded chandelier emitting a warm glow. He lifted his head, taking in the beeping of a microwave, the smell of brewing coffee, and the heat enveloping him from all sides and not just the fireplace.

“Yep. Came back on just a couple hours ago. And people have been shoveling the snow all morning. So we should be good to go.” Barret crossed his arms. His eye exceedingly watchful as he towered over them.

“I’ll go get my stuff packed.” Aerith moved to stand but stopped, turning back to him.

Cloud mourned their lost time already. But what was he supposed to say? Thanks for jacking me off last night? Maybe I can eat you out next time? This hadn’t been some one-night-stand, and . . . he really didn’t want it to be one either.

Luckily, Aerith was smarter than him, and less awkward. She threw her arms around him, turning her lips to his ear. “Thanks for warming me last night.”

Giving his cheek a quick kiss, she jumped up and scurried off to her room. He hadn’t realized he’d been looking after her until Barret cleared his throat.

He turned to the large man with his brow arched. “Just a tip. Next time you wanna get freaky with your girl, maybe give it ten minutes. Wait til everyone’s actually asleep.”

Cloud’s stomach dropped open.

“Mhmm,” Barret continued. “I heard ya’ll mackin’ on each other last night. Thankfully, sleep took me before I heard anything else.”

Cloud felt the burn trying to crawl up into his cheeks, but he pushed it away, adopting his carefree mask. “Nothing else happened.”

“That ain’t what Red said. You know, the one of us with sensitive ears.”

Shit.

Barret’s laugh boomed around him like an explosion. “Man, your face says it all. I was just teasin’. He didn’t say nothin’. I was just guessing. Looks like I was right, though.” He tipped his sunglasses down, winking.

Cloud scoffed as he stood up. “We just kissed.”

Barret’s brows rose, and he nodded down at his fly.

His fly?

“That why your pants are undone?”

Cloud looked down at his half-zipped fly and the popped button above it. Fuck! 

He righted himself while Barret belly laughed. “Shut up.”

“Cloud and Aerith sitting in a tree,” Barret sang after him as he walked down the hall to his room.

Guess he deserved it. Last night had been too good for a peaceful morning to follow. Especially with this group.

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Tifa sang from the kitchen.

Yuffie’s head popped out from her room at the end of the hall. “Who’s kissing?”

“No one! Close the door.” Cloud waved her off and made a sharp turn into his room.

Slamming the door behind him, he leaned against it and let out a long sigh.

Images of her wrecked his mind. How was he supposed to go on like normal? Pretending he didn’t know what she tasted like, or how she looked when she came. What was the standard protocol for this situation?

A soft knock sounded on his door. He cracked it open, already knowing who it was. He didn’t trust himself not to drag her into his room and have his way. Not with an empty bed so close and a door with a working lock.

“Yeah?”

Aerith twirled side to side, her hands clasped behind her back. Maybe she didn’t trust herself either. “I was thinking. Maybe at the next Inn you could um . . . you could stay with me if you want.”

“Like share a room?” He needed the clarification, because his head had already skipped there, creating all kinds of inappropriate scenarios.

Aerith giggled. “Yeah. Only if you want to.”

Cloud smiled, just a little. He didn’t want to seem too eager. “I want to.”

She smiled so unabashedly, completely unconcern with showing her excitement. It was one of the things he loved about her. How emotionally free she was. Maybe, one day, it would rub off on him. If he was lucky.

“Get packin’, lovebirds!” Barret marched by, shaking the floors.

“Sit with me on the plane?” Aerith walked backward to her room.

“Of course I will.”

Aerith twinkled her fingers, shutting the door behind her.

Still sniffing her perfume, Cloud shut his door and gathered his things. Next time he unloaded them, he’d be in Aerith’s room, with Aerith and a bed and a lockable door. And no one else to bother them.

Fuck. Yes.