Second Flower
{..."Wait! I can't let you go in there...you know what kind of place that is, don't you?"
Cloud and Aerith are standing at the gates of Don Corneo's mansion. "What, do you want to come with me? " Aerith asks after a pause, blinking her eyes at him warily. He snorts. "Well, being a guy that'd be pretty hard and if I bust in that would cause a huge commotion.." Cloud didn't notice the lightbulb going off in Aerith's head.
If he did, he probably should have ran. The flowerseller's shoulders started shaking as she turned, muffling her giggles as best she could.
"But I just can't let you go alone, oh man.." Cloud groaned, "First we need to find out of Tifa's alright.." He finally noticed the peals of muffled laughter, and turned, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"What's so funny, Aerith?" Still choking on her giggles, the young woman removed her hands from her mouth, glancing at him with eyes shining with mischeif.
"Cloud why don't you dress like a girl? It's the only way."
And she waited for the idea to sink in.
(Aerith literally snorts as she dreams this, mouthing, 'Oh gosh I'm so sorry Cloud.." Into her pillow, shaking a little)
"WHAT?!"
Aerith glided over to the gate-guard, hands behind her back, eyes alight. "Just wait, I've got a cute friend I want to bring. Cloud looked tormented, raising his eyes to her face. "Aerith, I can't." She sighed. "Come on, you want to save Tifa, right?"
A little nod.
"Then come on, hurry!" She grabbed on his arm and led him out.
The dream moved to Aerith dragging Cloud to a dressshop, speaking without sound to a dressowner, the only words you could hear was, "Well if we don't do something we don't get a dress right?" From Aerith, who sighed and glanced at Cloud mustering a bright smile. "Well, let's go Cloud!"
------
"Make me a dress." Cloud deadpanned to a man in a bar, who was busy drinking himself silly while Aerith frowned disapprovingly behind him. Honestly Cloud needed to work on his manners...The man he was adressing had an attitude though, and looked up, squinted his eyes and said, "Look, I don't make men's clothes and I don't feel like makin' anything right now.."
Aerith sighed. Honestly she had to do everything herself!
"Cloud, you wait over there. I'll try talking to him."
Cloud moved to the side, out of earshot.
"Y'know mister..." Aerith began, and sat on the stool beside the drinking man. She fiddled with her thumbs. "You know, he always said that just once, he'd like to dress like a girl. That's why I wanted to get a cute dress for him. " The drinking man choked.
"What?! A tough lookin' guy like that?!" Aerith only smiled.
"So how about it? Will you make him one?"
Muted sound until it got back to,
"So what kind of dress do you want?"
"Hmm..." Aerith began.
(You could see the flash of fabric)
"Something...that feels soft."
A pause.
"And something that...shimmers."
Another pause, and the man spoke up again.
"Y'know, I know a man that has the same taste as him. Let me go talk to him."
They went back to the stall, Cloud trying on the dress while Aerith peeked ('H-Hey what are you doing Aerith?!').
"Hm..something's missing."
The shopkeeper's daughter sighed. "I thought you might say that. So I talked to a friend. He's at the gym. You'll find a lot of people there like you, you should go talk to him."
Cloud sputtered with indignation. "W-What do you mean people like me?! Aerith what'd you tell them?!" She smiled. "Does it matter?"
---
(You now see the lengths Aerith goes to get Cloud his..'accessories'.
"So you're the guy that wants to be cute?" Someone says in the gym. Note that they are all burly looking and genuinely not the type you'd think would like ..well, what Cloud was pretending to like.
After some competition of 'squats', Aerith clapping as Cloud got the 'wig' the girl bounced away with Cloud sluggishly following her out of the gym.
After some walking about Wallmarket, Aerith led him back to the Dress Shop, where Cloud walked into the curtain and pulled it away. Aerith bounced on her heels as she waited. And waited.
She could hear anguished mutters from behind the curtain. And then, finally then---
THIS APPEARED
----->
Aerith stared once or twice. He really DID look pretty as a girl. I mean...
Really.
The man looked even amused. He stroked his chin. "Hmm, this may be a new business for me.." Aerith tried her best not to quiver with hysterical laughter that was shaking the insides of her stomach. Aerith collected herself.
"Walk more nicely...like this, Miss Cloud." She instructed, watching Cloud shuffle awkwardly in the purple dress. Cloud almost snarled at her. Almost. "What do you mean 'nicely?" Aerith only smiled, walking close to him and placing her hands behind her back.
"Oh, you look so cute. Miss Cloud."
(Aerith wakes up shaking with laughter, her face in the dreamberry as she starts wiping her eyes of tears of laughter.)
M-Miss Cloud...oh...Cloud..I'm sorry....!!! I hope you didn't see this!