etrayalogs | fate and destiny are no guarantee (closed)

WHO: aerith and cloud
WHEN: cloud's birthday! (august 11)
WHERE: beachside
WHAT: what's the point in knowing about his birthday if she can't use it as an excuse for some fun (and maybe a date)?
NOTES\WARNINGS: n/a

Returning to Etraya after the time away is...a relief, honestly. While a lot of the mission in Moorecroft had been innocuous - fake family, fake job, fake life - it'd come with that feeling of the hairs on the back of your neck standing up...at all times.

Yeah... Something there had been really wrong. Thankfully, when the time finally comes to return 'home' (and she's given a pass, to boot), Aerith can finally sigh in relief as the feeling wanes.

(...Right? And if that feeling persists back into Etraya, well...it's probably just leftover from all the time spent in the other city. Probably.)

Whatever the case, the florist is happy to be back in their new normal, and particularly happy to be able to return to the church and her flowers, which is one of the first things she does upon arrival. It's there that something very important occurs to her, and Aerith gathers up her things in a hurry and makes her way over to Cloud's apartment, where she raps on the door.

"Cloud! You busy?"

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Cloud is certainly glad to be back in Etraya, no longer having to live a fake life in suburban hell, but at the same time...he'd kind of liked that fake life. Sure, it was awkward for a while, being 'married' to Aerith, but in the end it didn't really change much, did it? Aside from the tasks they were obliged to do, they mostly just interacted the same way they always have. Same with Yuffie, even if she was somehow even more insufferable as his 'daughter' than usual. And he got to know Izuku pretty well, which is a good thing in his book. Good kid.

And...it was nice to have that stability. Knowing he had a home to return to at the end of the day, with people there who would be waiting for him. A little pathetic, maybe, but he hasn't had that in a long time. Coming back to his apartment where it's just him and the silence feels like a letdown, even if Aerith is just down the hall. Feels...lonely. And it's only here where the too-familiar sensation of being watched starts to actually bother him. Starts to remind him of Sephiroth.

So he's actually gearing up to leave when the knock comes, and he doesn't even realize how he perks up hearing her voice. Gotta play it cool, though, so he waits a few seconds before he moves to open the door with a casual little shrug.

"I might be. Why?"

It'd been nice. For sure it had. Because the kind of life they'd lived (together) in that picture-perfect town had been kind of like a dream, in a lot of ways. But...with the undercurrent of it being a dream that...would probably never come true.

So, she'd cherished the time. With Cloud, and Yuffie and Deku, too. Plus everyone else around town. But, everything ends. Nothing to do but keep soldiering on, as always. Part of moving forward, then, is focusing on the present, and that means -

"'Why?' Seriously?" There's a hopeless shake of the head, which sends her braid snapping back and forth. "Cloud! It's your birthday, isn't it?"

Rhetorical question, because she knows.

"We're going out, so get ready quick!"

Would it be helpful to tell him the details? Probably, but unless he asks - and maybe even then - she isn't divulging.

"Well, yeah..." Cloud doesn't think much about his birthday these days, though he's not sure exactly why or when it stopped mattering. ~~Definitely not while he was catatonic and then confused about how old he was.~~

"Uh--" Well, okay, then. "Going out where?" But even as he asks the question, he's fetching Buster and attaching it to its harness. That's all he really needs to do to 'get ready,' unless Aerith has something else in mind.

"It's a surprise!" So much for preparation. If he's going to bring the sword, she won't argue, if only because he brings it everywhere. Aerith herself is dressed as normal, though she has a picnic basket on her arm: its contents unclear within the closed, woven flaps.

This won't be quite the same as their time on the beach in Costa Del Sol, but since a beach has appeared, there's no way she's not going to make some use of it. And what better opportunity than a birthday to make the trip?

"Honestly, you're probably good to go just like that." Is this her rushing him along? Maybe! "So? Shall we?"

Cloud does bring the sword everywhere - and besides, what kind of bodyguard would he be if he accompanied her unarmed?

He eyes the basket until she verbally nudges him and he looks back up at her instead. With a small smile, he says, "Why not?"

He opens the door and gestures for her to go first so he can lock it behind them, and then it's time to follow her to wherever it is they're going.

He opens the door and she passes by with a smile, patting him on the arm as she passes.

"So, how's the day been so far? And don't say 'same as every other day.'" She imitates him as she says this, though...the impression is really just Aerith lowering her voice and ducking her brows to look grumpy. As they walk, she falls into step with him, guiding them out of the building and, unbeknownst to Cloud, on their way to the beach.

He opens his mouth to reply as they walk along, but then his face falls into what can only be accurately described as a sulky pout. "I do not sound like that."

"'Course you do! Anyone would agree." She's grinning, though, and pats his arm affably. "No offense."

They love him for it, right? That's just...Cloud. He wouldn't be the same guy otherwise.

"Besides, you know what they say about denial..."

"That sometimes it's legit?"

He's not really offended, though. Maybe a bit disgruntled, but that's kind of his default state anyway.

"Dunno, day's been...fine, I guess? A little boring."

A little lonely. Aerith had the church and her flowers to come back to, at least. Cloud feels like there should probably be something here for him to come back to, too, but...so far, there isn't. He lived on the move or in temporary spaces for so long back home that he supposes it just comes naturally to him at this point to stay adaptable. His apartment still looks like it did the day he moved in. Barely looks like anyone really lives there, and honestly, he barely does.

"Not so boring now, though." He glances over with a slight smile. Nothing's ever boring with Aerith around. He likes that about her. Keeps him on his toes.

"Pretty sure that's not it." But she grins anyway. "And I don't mind boring. Sometimes it's nice to have nothing to do, where the whole day's one big possibility. You just have to know where to look for things to fill it."

Hence, this. The birthday surprise. At his comment, her smile widens. Warms.

"I'm just glad I didn't have to drag you out of there," Aerith says lightly, raising her eyebrows at him. "I never know with you..."

But...he's been better about it, honestly. As time's gone on, he's been less reticent, and more likely to give her ideas (and sometimes schemes) a chance. For that, she's grateful.

She takes in a deep breath of the air outside, as they go, but there's still no distant notes of salt or sand.

"Not much longer now." There's a sideways glance, and her smile turns impish. "Any guesses?"

"Well, I know exactly where to look." Which is, of course, where he's looking now - directly at her.

Cloud shrugs. "Hard to have objections when I got no idea where we're going." It's deadpan, but she knows him well enough to know that if it really bothered him, he just wouldn't have agreed. He trusts her. This far, anyway. Time will tell what shenanigans she's going to try to rope him into next.

"Hm." He looks around at where they are and tries to get a sense for what's nearby in his mental map of the bubble. He hasn't been this way very often, though, so he's not sure. "Basket screams either picnic or flower picking, so...wildflower field?"

Possibly surprisingly, he wouldn't complain about that. It's kinda become their Thing, and after his time trying his best to run a flower shop, he might, just maybe, actually enjoy it.

That...surprises her, somehow, and makes her smile. Cloud has opened up so much since they first met, and when he says things like that - unexpectedly earnest - it takes her aback.

"Fair enough. But you won't mind it when you see where we're going. Trust me!"

Who could complain about the beach, anyway? ...Okay, maybe Cloud had done some whinging at Costa Del Sol, but those had been half-hearted, and therefore did not count.

"Hmm, good guess! Not quite, though." It's about that time that they finally make a clear approach, revealing their destination: the beach that had newly appeared near the city. Once they're in view, she'll stop and spin around to face him, arms with the basket behind her back.

"So? Surprised?"

fate and destiny are no guarantee (closed)

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