aterat | [Closed] An Overdue Realization

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[Closed] An Overdue Realization

Who; Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough
What; Friend Hangout Day
Where; Zack's Apartment
When; Early June
Warnings; None

It starts with a message sent to two people.

Group hangout this weekend? It feels like we don't do this enough. I want to spend a day with my two favorite people.

It takes a bit from there to negotiate when and even where, but finally it all smooths out and the day arrives. Which Zack has actually bothered to put some attention into preparing for. There's food that he ordered from that Hunters Lodge area in the kitchen waiting either to reheat or to get hauled out of the fridge for snacks. There's drinks of all sorts including this really cool tea that was made from a flower that blooms in the clear glass pot. He's even got pie. Okay, he got three pies because he's still him and he needs to eat plenty to keep his enhancements from leaving him too hungry.

But he's ready, he's excited, he even got his friends little gifts for when they arrive. A nice potted flower for Aerith, and a really great whetstone for Cloud. That's what you do for friends coming to your place, right? You buy them presents and spoil them with really good food. Right? Totally right.

Now he's just got to deal with the hardest part of all of this: waiting.

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The message had warmed Aerith's heart and made her grin from ear to ear and she eagerly accepted. Sometimes all the thoughts about what could have been and what would be and what might be seemed like too much for her to handle. Which, in turn, seemed to have left her in a position where she didn't spend nearly as much time with those exact people she worried about. Maybe it was time to break out of that cycle, to try to move forward with only this place in mind and not the weight of everything else

This seemed like a really good time to do just that.

She arrived wearing a light pink sundress with a pink bow tied up in her hair. Truthfully, she might have taken a tiny bit longer than usual when getting ready, but she was never going to admit that to either of them! When she arrived she knocked lightly with her free hand, holding a few large white lilies in her other hand and a bright smile on her face.

Good news, he's also elected to wear pink. He'd gone out and gotten a pink button up that the tailor man insisted just went with his beautiful eyes and had put it on because he made a promise and he can't always live up to it, but he was going to try. So when he opens the door he's grinning, pink, and looking so happy that if he had a tail it would be wagging.

"Aerith!" he said, reaching forward to hug her. Sorry plant, it's hug time.

Cloud's clothes hadn't changed all that much. He was wearing dark slacks and a sleeveless white t-shirt, so he supposed at least someone could say he'd added some color to his wardrobe. Truth be told, when he'd seen the clothing in the shop, they'd just looked comfortable to wear in the heat. It had been the only thought that had gone into it, but it was something, right, an effort to be something...more normal? Less like a battle-hardened mercenary?

He looked more like the boy he'd left Nibelheim in search of glory than he had in a long time and he wasn't sure how he felt about it, but it was the best he could do. He was happy to join Zack and Aerith, though the idea of Zack being that Zack, the first boy Aerith had ever loved, made him feel something like a third wheel in the endeavor.

Or at least it would, if he could identify the feeling enough to articulate it. He jjust felt awkward, and that awkwardness was only enhanced when he came upon the scene. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and stayed off a ways before crossing his arms and not saying anything. Best tactic in the world when you didn't know what to do: pretend you didn't care.

She squeezed him tightly into the hug while trying to balance her flower. "Careful, don't crush the flower! You've already done enough of that, haven't you?" She gave him a playful wink as she squeezed again before pulling away. She spotted Cloud out of the corner of her eye and found herself laughing at the sight of him. Probably not the response he'd like, but, well, she really couldn't help it.

"Now that's a familiar sight to see." How many times had she caught him awkwardly standing that exact way? Too many to think about now. "You should come over, we could do a group hug." She was still grinning as she said that. Maybe it was awkward, it all was, but when she thought about it, awkward seemed a lot better than the alternative. The alternative being not having the chance to laugh and hug and smile with them at all.

"Oops, sorry flower," Zack said brightly as he released Aerith.

When he saw Cloud he laughed too. His friend top himself way too seriously.

"Bring it in, Spike," he said. And then moved to try and capture the blond in a solo embrace as well. Equal treatment before group hugs.

He scoffed, but had a hard time keeping the bashful smile from his face as he shook his head. "Not interested." They could keep their group hug. He was fine being a loner on the outside, really.

When Zack when for the hug he tried his best to avoid it, but he wasn't expecting it (he should have been) and he was caught anyway. Instead, he started patting the arm that held him.

"I need to breathe."

"The flower accepts the apology," she said with a light giggle. That answer from Cloud was not one she was going to accept though and so she just moved over and looped one arm partially around Cloud and one partially around Zack for her very poor attempt at hugging them both. It was slightly unfair that they were both so much bigger than her.

"Oh, don't be like that. Hugs can only crush flowers, not people." She pulled away from them both and then just looked back and forth and laughed. "There's no standing off in a corner today. It's not allowed. We can't do this back home, we'll never all get to go to Wall Market together or to visit places outside of Midgar together or...anything. But we can here. We can hang out and laugh and maybe, if we're really daring, talk to each other."

Well it's good to hear the flower accepts the apology. He's wronged those before. A few times.

Better than that forgiveness was Cloud just having to deal with not just his hug, but Aerith joining him in it as well. See Cloud, affection is coming. And oh man is that tiny hint of the sorts of smiles he used to know from his friend such a relief.

"If you can talk, you can breathe," Zack said with a grin. "And you know what? It's good seeing my smiling trooper again. My favorite little spike. But Aerith is right. You don't get to be in the corner. Kunsel once told me the most stable shape is a triangle because it has three corners or something. So today you're one of the cornerstone of these parties."

Though he almost feels like that 'talk to each other' is aimed at him. Yeah he really needs to talk.

"Wouldn't it be a circle...?" Why was he getting off on that tangent? There was something nice about being pulled into a group hug with them, this impossible group that could, like Aerith said, never exist here, but it was weird having concrete proof that Zack, his Zack, was also her Zack. What were the odds? Did he even want to think about it?

No. He definitely didn't. It implied too many things that seemed contrived when you also factored in Sephiroth and Hojo, and-

-Maybe he should just focus on being here. Now. He could feel one of his weird headaches coming on, and that would ruin everything.

"It's a party, now?"

"Favorite little spike? I like that! Kind of makes me think of this flower I saw..." She tilted her head thoughtfully as she tried to recall what she'd found it to be called. "Bird of Paradise I think! It's got spiky orange petals that go up," she motioned with her in different directions like the spikes of Cloud's hair. "Like that!" Clearly he was akin to that flower.

She gave a nod to confirm the status of this gathering though. "Of course it's a party! What else would it be with the three of us?" Clearly they were impressive party people, right? Fun loving super partying party people. Luckily she didn't actually say that or she'd have ruined any cool credentials that she might have had immediately. "I might even make you both dance with me. Which you'll have to do because it's a party and nobody else can see."

"Totally a party," he agrees with a smile, finally letting go and moving to the door. "Come on in. There's gifts. And food."

And comfortable places for them to hang out. Though he's grinning.

"I could learn to dance for you, Aerith."

"You think I look like a flower?" There was a part of him sure that would be something akin to a compliment coming from Aerith, but then again, with her, it was almost impossible to know.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Do we have to dance?" The last time she saw him dance, well...that was a special situation, and Zack didn't see it, and he's not sure he wants him to, either.

Aerith walked in, although maybe it could be more accurate to say she bounced in. The pep in her step probably said quite a lot about just how excited she was about spending time with them both. "Of course. Spitting image of it. And Zack, you're a..." she put her finger to her chin thoughtfully as she found a seat inside his place to plop down. "A black columbine flower!" Not only did they sort of look like they had overlapping spiky black petals but they also were sometimes used as a symbol of fortitude and passion!

She gave a firm nod. "I'd like that I think. You know..." She tilted her head and grinned. "I bet you and Cloud would have been amazing as a duet act at the Honeybee Inn...."

"The second prettiest flower in the room, Spike," Zack laughs. Aerith is clearly the prettiest. But he's also grinning because she's complimented him too.

"Wait, I've got music," he says with joy and bounces over to find his supplies for that. Only to pause. Wait. What?

"Aerith, why do you know what happens at the Honeybee?"

Maybe he hadn't been fully briefed.

Cloud's groan was audible as he followed the two of them inside only to hear the Honeybee brought up. He wasn't ashamed of his time with Andrea. On the contrary, he felt he'd learned a lot from the man that he never would have elsewhere, but it was...difficult to explain in a way that wasn't embarrassing in front of a guy he used to, and still did, idolize.

"Nothing important. Just a way to help a friend." He hoped that worked.

"Aww," she grinned and that grin did not stop at all even after he asked about the Honeybee. She just looked from Cloud then back to Zack with what could only be described as a look of pure mischief. Joyous mischief.

"I went in! Cloud's friend Tifa was taken by Don Corneo. So, we had to rescue her, right?" They couldn't just leave Tifa like that, not with Corneo of all people. "But the only way to get in to see him was to go to one of his auditions." She stuck her tongue out at the word, the very idea of the thing still managed to gross her out. Almost as much as actually being near the man himself had. "Cloud here insisted on going too. Which meant..."

She looked to Cloud, smile somehow grinning even more, then back to Zack. "He had to get ready for the audition too. Andrea, the owner, offered to help Cloud. All he had to do was dance with him. It was the performance of a lifetime!"

Helping a friend sounds about right. And Zack had heard a bit about the dress thing, but the dancing? Listen, he is left staring for a moment because, wow, uh, what? His brain is just caught up in that.

"Cloud danced?" Zack says, his voice just a little... breathy? No. Surely not. IGnore that. Especially since Zack hasn't really talked to them about it all yet. Okay. It's fine. He's fine.

"You'd probably, uh, be good at that, Spike. Because you're really, uh, lithe?"

He looks to Aerith, as if to say 'help me out here' because he didn't know what else to say. How to be less awkward. Help.

"Yeah, I was awesome, totally nailed it. Can we move on?" To anything, was all he could think. Zack had mentioned music, but that was the last thing Cloud wanted to remind them of right now. He'd probably want to turn it on and "see those moves", and Aerith would encourage it.

Yeah, no music was much safer.

"Wasn't there food?"

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[Closed] An Overdue Realization

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