Title: Spur of the Moment and Afterwards
Fandoms: Final Fantasy VII
Rating: SFW
Length: 2423 words
Relationship: Aerith/Cloud
Characters: Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud Strife
Summary: Aerith and Cloud get married at the Gold Saucer. Then they have to deal with what happens next.


Aeris had never given much thought to her wedding when she was younger. Oh, there was a vague idea if things went well with Zack or Stella or Undyne then maybe she would propose to them. A few times she wondered how to react if someone proposed to her, but not often. Maybe she could even use her church as the venue. Well, maybe not that; the less people who knew about the location of her garden the better. Though quite how many people would even come to such an event was debatable. Mom would of course. Her friends and neighbours in Sector Five. Her partner's family - whoever they were. In any case, her briefly imagined wedding would look very little like the present. Her imagined wedding dress would have been white before; a rethink now would see it as black of fit the situation. If it had been planned anyway. As it was, her dress was nothing special; the same pink sundress she had been wearing since leaving Midgar.

The Ghost Hotel's lights were always dim as per the required ambience, and it was reportedly impossible to turn off any of the sound effects, the ghost effects or even get the staff into some other costumes. This it turned out was a thing in the Gold Saucer; a wedding venue like no other as some of the advertising referred to it. The intersection of amusement park/race course and wedding venue was still giving her pause. Aeris had been faintly aware people did get married in this place; it came up as a subplot in a few dramas on TV. Usually such an action was typically ill-advised as far as the plot was concerned. However-

Cloud glanced over at her as the minister recited the various legal jargon necessary for the ceremony. No additional pomp or ceremony, but the gothic look and atmosphere at least gave proceedings a detail they wouldn't have achieved if they had decided to elope in Kalm or Junon or Costa del Sol. That again was not a notion she considered in the past. Weddings were expensive and complex affairs; worked out in advance to intricate detail. It had been something of a thrill to decide, on the clawed foot of that one chocobo crossing the finish line before any other, to get married. And to a man she had known maybe two weeks?

But somehow none of that mattered. She was utterly in love with him and he with her; hard to keep their hands off each other. The cute expressions Cloud made when she embraced him or undressed in front of him. The pop she felt behind her ribs whenever they held hands, whenever they kissed. The others might roll their eyes and make snide comments about longevity, but it didn't matter. They were together, and they would spend the rest of their lives together. The ceremony was cut down from the grandiose speeches in dramas. Less time for anyone to dramatically burst in and call a halt to proceedings. But if Zack showed up now? Too late. Far too late to make her stop.

Cloud had requested the Nibel wedding ceremony. The difference was negligible and as legally binding, but still an unusual choice. No rings as per the norm in dramas; Nibelheim used necklaces. Nothing too pricey - and limited by the designs available here. A lot of black, a lot of silver. Some gem stones - usually red. Nibel also seemed not quite as up to date as the television dramas; Cloud was considered the lead in the ceremony rather than treated as an equal in a decision they had both reached. Or maybe that was just the hotel making assumptions. She had little to do during the ceremony. A few positive answers and an I will as she bounced on her feet and waited for them to be declared married.

Relief as the minister pronounced them a couple; Cloud turned and kissed her deeply. Too deeply; the minister cleared his throat a few moments later and ushered them firmly from the room. Others were getting married after them; others who had planned for this venue and its atmosphere. A crowd of people in black dresses and dark eye shadow on everyone. Still; hardly a concern or anything to dwell on. She and Cloud were married. Some complimentary tokens for the arcades and the races. A bigger, better furnished room compliments of the establishment. A large bed. Aeris grinned as Cloud took her hand.

First time as wife and husband. Not that anyone had judged them for sleeping together before legal ties; it had been decades since that was last anyone's concern. But there was a feeling of satisfaction at their status now. Even if anyone did hold onto such out-moded notions, no one could say anything. Together the two of them raced for the stairs to their room. Aeris paused at the door just to leave the Do Not Disturb sign on the handle outside, close the door behind her and pull her dress over her head.

---

Married life was bliss for about the first month; they spent most of their time together, ate at the same time, cuddled up on the couch and jumped into bed at a moment’s notice. The second month was when the spark dwindled a small amount. The sheer magnetism between them and her need to spend every waking hour with Cloud diminished. Aeris found herself caught up in something on the TV, or finishing a chapter in her book, or just fiddling with her phone. They still did so much together, but relaxing did not mean always lying against Cloud, and she would often retreat to her end of the sofa and he to his.

Still nice to know he was there, that if she awoke in the night, he was right beside her, warm and comforting. They still held hands when they went out together, and any kiss was usually in danger of getting a little out of control. Going to bed lost some of its connotations; often the bed was merely there for them to sleep in. Work intruded and they spent longer away from each other as the month wore on. It seemed to help in some ways; a touch, a kiss, anything at the end of the day was enough to make them be all over each other again.

The third month was when the cracks started to show. They had an agreed time to meet after work at the house – and Aeris would ensure she was there ready and waiting every-day, the flower shop closed, all her orders completed. She slipped once or twice, a rush meaning all the paperwork was not completed on time, so she carried that home and Cloud found her working on it when he came through the door. She put it aside without protest, but had to draw away in the end to complete it before the next day. Cloud would tease her a little, tempt her to leave it all for morning, but she resisted his offer of a cuddle and perhaps something more.

But Cloud’s job was nowhere close to regular; his delivery routes varied massively. Some days he was home long before her; others he was home hours later. At first she waited by the window on the edge of her seat, waiting to run to him the second she saw him. All too soon she would be distracted by a book or a game, and not even realise Cloud was back until she heard the key in the door. Just another part of her life, another aspect. A good aspect, but he was a factor alongside all manner of others. A string of later nights and no calls – phone reception was awful in some regions – and sitting in, even just waiting in the house was not enough.

Aeris started taking short walks in the later afternoon. Through the little cluster of houses in Kalm, stopping to say hi to Tifa and Yuffie as she passed. A few times they invited her in for tea and she lost track of time, rushing home to find Cloud still absent. Other times she left the town and wandered the grasslands, seeking out flowers and investigating the terrain. A few times the Planet called her, sending her venturing far from home and for reasons she could never quite figure out. She was always back before Cloud, no matter how long she stayed out. Until the times when found Cloud pacing at home, concerned and panicked; her phone lying on the sofa with a litany of missed calls from him on the screen.

She apologised, hugged him and the pair made dinner together.

The fourth month got rougher. Sometimes Aeris would let empty packaging and discarded wrappers slide to the floor while nestled on the sofa; usually she would remember to take them to the bin when she next got up, but not always. A lot of the time Cloud would sweep them up as he headed to the kitchen for a drink and that would be that. Until the next time he came home while she was still out; her litter remained on the floor and he reminded her with a tight, irritated voice that it needed to be cleared away. His tone conflicted with the headache buzzing in her head and she snapped at him. Such a little thing, but somehow it got to her. And the next time he mentioned it- Harsh words, a fight over nothing. They made up quickly, but the bliss at the start of their married life was long-gone now.

Aeris lay awake some nights after, Cloud sleeping soundly beside her. The little arguments, nuisance moments, the times Cloud tried to seduce her and she just wasn’t feeling it; they added up. Had they got married too fast? It had seemed like they knew everything they needed to when they both said I will. But did they? Living together was supposed to be quite different to just dating someone. They both let their cleaning regimens slide, nails were longer before cutting, meals less fancy and some evenings it was hard to keep her eyes open. Bed normally did just mean sleep; weekend mornings were the best time for anything more. They were fine. Right?

The low point was a bad day at work, a long, arduous argument with a customer who insisted despite all evidence to the contrary that Aeris had messed her order up. All Aeris could do was keep referring back to the same invoice, the customer’s signature on the bottom to indicate yes she wanted those flowers in that formation. Not good enough. Her head was pounding as she shut the shop, and she needed air, needed a distraction. She wandered with no destination for a long while before heading back.

Cloud was already at home, asked how her day was and she answered. He listened for a few moments and tried to change the subject. She talked over him, trying to get across the fussy obstinacy of the customer and her insistence Aeris was lying; Cloud seemed more interesting in the TV. He asked her if she could have made a mistake. The evening degenerated after that. Cloud attempted to distract her while she finished paperwork and would not take the hint to leave her alone. By bedtime, Aeris was furious and alone in their bed with Cloud relegated to the couch.

A meeker, more nervous Cloud gently shook her awake the next morning with coffee and an apology. Aeris sipped at her drink, not quite sure how to respond to Cloud’s words, his insistence he was sorry and should have listened to what she had said. The evening overshadowed the day, made coming home feel off somehow. She hugged Cloud, insisted she was okay, but things were different. The issue seemed to fade over the following week, and soon it was if nothing had happened. But Cloud still pointedly watched as she discarded detritus to the floor, tried to distract her from her work, and he in turn amongst other things insisted on leaving clothes strewn about the house.

A quiet day in the shop allowed Aeris to focus her thoughts. Did she still love Cloud? Of course she did. Didn’t she? That original spark seemed to have gone, but she wanted to be with him all the same. She did not want to split up. Did he have personal habits that were annoying? Yes; he clipped his toenails in the living room, never put clothes away, let mugs pile up wherever he sat, hardly ever cooked- But she was not perfect. How many of her little actions did she unknowingly do every-day forcing him to bite his tongue? Difficult to say.

She put it to him that evening that they needed to change things. One night a week – date night – to spend in each other’s company like they used to. Both helping to clean rooms and rubbish away. Sharing the washing up and folding laundry. Cloud seemed reluctant at first, but Aeris pressed the issue and did relent. They both had interests outside the other; they could indulge them, but not forget about why they were together in the first place.

Difficult to start. Remembering to sweep up whenever she left the sofa. Carrying piles of clothes upstairs with Cloud. Consistent bed-times. Her headaches lessened, and slowly there was a renewed pleasure to just being in each other’s company, in doing things together. Date night helped; it helped a lot. Now they cuddled at the same end of the sofa until a movie was over and made out as the credits rolled. Long, passionate make-out sessions that sometimes saw them shift to the bedroom, but more often than not had them undressing right there. A few times the film bored or distracted them sufficiently they left it playing to itself as they embraced. More talking, guiding, more openness. More love. They might have rushed into this relationship without a second thought, might have not known each other as well as they expected, but that did not mean they could not be together, should not be together.

Slowly, but surely they forged a new spark; not as passionate or intense, no rushing to the bedroom as before. But it was between the two of them and getting stronger with each passing day. Aeris would not trade it for the world.