FFVII ~ 7 minutes in Heaven: Cloud

“Five!”
You look around to see who's getting up, and realise it's Cloud. Your best buddy, Cloud. You've been friends with him since you were both very small, having known each other since Cloud's time living in the village with his mother. You are both very close.
When Cloud gets to his feet and smiles at you, you jump up and run over to him and then the pair of you go into the closet together.

~Inside the closet~
The lights are off so the two of you decide to sit and talk for the whole of the seven minutes! Though, little does Cloud know, you would much rather be doing something else with him for those seven minutes. Yes, you have the classic crush on the best friend. It's not your fault. Who can blame you, Cloud is kind, attractive and strong... makes you wonder why he hasn't been snapped up already.
You notice how quiet he is and ask,
“Hey Cloud, this isn't like you. What's up?”
There's more silence for a moment, and then Cloud says,
“I'm just thinking, that's all.”
“uh-huh.” You say, knowing that there's something bothering him.
“Dude, we've been friends for forever! I can tell when something's wrong, so spill it!”
You hear Cloud laugh slightly.
“Damn, I knew I couldn't keep it from you.”
You roll your eyes.
“Go on...”
You hear Cloud shift a little, then he continues.
“Well, there's....this girl I like...”
“Aww! Cloud likes someone! That's so cute!” You lean over and give Cloud a big hug, hoping that your theory is right.
As far as it goes, you know the classic story-lines, and this one seemed like the 'He's too scared to admit it's you so he's going to pretend he's talking about someone you don't know' and you inwardly scream at the last part: 'then he confesses his true feeling for you.'
You lean back and press,
“So where do you know her from?”
Cloud smiles.
“I've know her for a very long time... I think all my life.”
“Aww! That really is cute! It's like a childhood romance.”
Cloud chuckles. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
You sit down properly and continue,
“So...hmm... what's she like?”
Cloud laughs again.
“What's with all the questions, ____?”
You decide to play along, seeing as how Cloud's acting so cute.
“Because I might be seeing a whole lot more of her if you two start dating so I want to know okay! So tell me!”
“Okay, okay! Well.... she's friendly, kind, strong, a good sense of humor...”
You laugh. “Cloud, that could be anyone!”
“I know. I'm not giving you any hints.”
“Aww! C'mon Cloud! Can't you just tell me who it is?”
“Hmm, no.”
You whimper. “Please! You'll be my best friend for life!”
Cloud raises an eyebrow. “I thought I already was?”
You laugh nervously. “Oh, yeah, you are! Of course you are! Silly me...”
Cloud ruffles your hair. “Okay, do you really want to know?”
“Yes.” You say absent-mindedly, a little preoccupied by the hand on the top of your head.
“Okay.. well...”
You snap your attention back to Cloud, realising he is about to say it. You already feel the butterflies in your stomach.
You don't really know how long you've liked Cloud like that.... you just woke up one day a few years ago and realised. You'd always been too nervous to ask him out, or things had gotten in the way. You have just been praying that one day he will ask you out instead.
“____, I'm in love with...it's...” Cloud pauses, a small blush spreading across his cheeks. You look at him, and a small blush spreads over your cheeks as well, too small to see in the dark. “It's... ..Tifa.”
Quick reactions have always been your thing, luckily, so Cloud doesn't get time to see the rush of hurt cross your face before it's replaced with a huge smile.
“Oh my- Cloud! That's awesome! Aah!! I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before!” You hug him, closing your eyes tight. Hopefully Cloud will think the tears are from joy. “You two are going to be so cute! Aww! Why didn't you tell me sooner? How long have you liked her?”
Cloud, seeming almost surprised by your actions, manages to get out,
“Uhh... I'm not sure.. a long time. I guess I was just too scared to tell her.”
“Scared? You?! Pah! You have nothing to worry about! Who would reject you? You're awesome!”
Cloud chuckles again and then you let go of him.
You decide to try and change the subject, knowing that you are probably going to snap and confess your own feelings if you don't steer clear of the whole subject.
“So anyway, enough of you and Tifa, we have the rest of our lives to plan the wedding and everything! So, I've heard you had another run in with Seph. What happened?”
Cloud gave a half laugh, half sigh. He said,
“Get the lights.”
“Okay!” You reply. You turn round and crawl back over to the wall, then lean up and flick on the light switch. When you turn to look at Cloud again, you see him unwrapping a bandage on his arm. He gets the bandage half off when you see the mess of scars and scrapes there. You shield your eyes.
“Ew! Ewwww! Put it away! Bleh! That's almost as bad as last months!”
You hear Cloud laughing, then look to see him wrapping it back up. “Phew...”
Cloud looks at you and says,
“I thought you would be used to it by now.”
You laugh.
“Cloud, dearest, I'm not supposed to get used to it because you're not supposed to get hurt like that on a regular basis!”
Cloud sticks his tongue out at you. You giggle.
It's strange. Everyone says that you seem to bring out Cloud's playful side. A rare sight for anyone but you.... and probably Tifa.
You sigh quietly, knowing too well that you're probably going to start hating her name soon.
The two of you continue talking and having fun until the seven minutes are up, and Yuffie opens the door with a camera in her hands. Cloud raises his eyebrow.
“And what is that for?”
Yuffie shrugs. “Well there was a small chance you two would have done something.... but I guess not.” She raises the camera to her eyes and takes a picture. She hands the photo to you as you walk out of the closet with a smile on her face. “There you go! You can write 'friends forever' on it or something!”
You take the picture from her, but don't really pay attention to her, because your eyes wander over to the painful sight of Cloud walking over and sitting down next to Tifa. He takes her hand in his and starts talking-
You look away and start to walk, only realising Yuffie is still stood there when you walk straight into her. She giggles.
“Hey! Watch where you're going, day-dreamer!-...hey? ____, you okay?”
You look at her suddenly-concerned face and realise you must be showing some emotions.
“Oh, yeah, sorry Yuffie. Hey, I don't feel so great, I'm going to go get some air, 'kay?”
Yuffie smiles and pats you on the back. “Okay! Hope you feel better soon!”
You give her a weak smile, then continue towards the door.
Once outside you decide to carry on walking – giving yourself time to think things over properly.
You know there is a small wooden bench just to the left side of the house, so you head in that direction. It's a cold night, and you wish you'd brought a jumper, but your house is quite a distance away so you can't go and get one now.
You reach the bench and sit down. Luckily it is sheltered from the wind by the high bushes behind it, helping you stay that little bit warmer.
You sit yourself down on the bench and automatically rest your head in your hands. You think to yourself,
'I get it now...- Urghh... I can't believe I was so stupid. It's always been Tifa...' You faintly recall the looks Cloud used to give Tifa when the two of you were playing together. You shake your head, realising how blind you had been at the time.
You have to stifle a shaky sigh when you hear someone come up behind you. You dart your head round to see Reno and Rude walking towards you- no wait, you see Rude walking towards you, and Reno is draped across his shoulders. Drunk.
Rude reaches you and says,
“Hey ____.”
You give him a small wave. “Hey, Rude.”
Then you hear a squeaky, “Hiya, ___-chan! Aren't the stars pretty tonight? They look like little balls of materia. Wow, what would they sell for....? Rude! I wanna star! LAUNCH ME!”
Rude struggles to keep hold of Reno as he tries to position himself so that he's on top of Rude's shoulders; thinking that this will somehow get him into range of grabbing a star.
You chuckle at the pair, then give them another wave as they walk off, presumably in the direction of wherever they're staying for the night.
You sit there, distracting yourself with 'how could Reno get drunk when there's no alcohol at the party.' instead of thinking about Cloud. Though, it doesn't take long for those thoughts to resurface.
Your head darts round when you hear a small twig snapping. You look up to see Cloud standing right next to you. You jump back startled; almost accidentally going head first backwards into a bush, but a firm hand on your shoulders stop you going all the way.
“Whew, thanks, Cloud! I was almost a goner then! Tifa is going to be one lucky girl to have a guy like-”
“____...”
You stop and look at him. It's only now you realise that Cloud's expression is worried... or maybe upset? You can't really tell. Cloud never has been an easy one to read.
He lets go of your shoulders and backs away slightly. You look at him curiously.
“Cloud?”
He lets out a sigh.
“Hey ____, I have something to tell you...”
You gulp, having a horrible idea that the next few words he is going to say will involve a wedding ring.
“Yes?” You say innocently.
“...I lied back in the closet...I don't like Tifa, I like you.”
The wind is almost knocked out of you.
“C-come again? Cloud, in the closet you said-”
“I said Tifa because I wanted to know if you liked me or not. I wanted to see your reaction if I said someone else.”
“What...?”
“When I said Tifa... well you hugged me so I guessed you didn't mind, meaning you aren't interested like that. I just let it drop.”
“Cloud... you... you....Actually Cloud, I was upset! How could you do that to me?!”
Cloud looks shocked. “You... you do like me?”
“Yes! Of course I like you!”
Cloud stares at you for a while“____, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said I liked someone else...I didn't realise I'd upset you either, I really thought you were okay.”
You sigh. “Cloud, it's okay, just.. answer me this. After we were in the closet, why did you go over to Tifa?”
Cloud's face went the tiniest shade of pink.
“Well... even though I thought you didn't like me, I went to ask Tifa how I should ask you out.” Your entire face flushed pink. Cloud continued, “After I'd finished, I went to find you. I asked Yuffie where you were, but she said you'd left.... she said you looked upset- heartbroken. I felt so guilty. ____, I am sorry. Please forgive me?”
You look at Cloud's face, seeing the upset there. You give him a small smile. Okay, he had lied to you to see if you liked him or not, but... you do like him, a lot. Still...
You look down at the ground for a moment, only to hear shuffling. You look up again to see Cloud sat next to you. You blink for a moment, startled, then freeze as he leans in and locks his lips with yours.
The kiss seems to send little electric shocks to every part of your body. You immediately lean into him and wrap your arms around his neck. Cloud puts his strong arms around your waist and draws you into him, making sure you are as close as humanly possible. It becomes clear to you now that this kiss is something the two of you have been wanting for a long time. This fact seems to make it all the more hard for you to finally break away from the blonde haired boy.
You feel Cloud's hand guide your head so that you are resting it against his chest, listening to his heart beat, then he wraps his arms securely around your frame, also resting his head atop of yours.
He leans down, burying his head in your hair, and whispers.
“____, all those things I said in the closet about Tifa, you know they were really about you, right? I have liked you ever since our time in the village. You're funny, smart and beautiful, and to be honest... I think I'm in love with you.”
You hear Cloud's heart start to race, so you lean up and kiss the bottom of his chin.
“Cloud, I love you too.” you snuggle into him. “And don't you ever forget it.”
He kisses your hair again, then decides to take you inside. He scoops you up in his arms and walks back to the house as you start to fall asleep, listening to the steady beat of his heart. When he walks in the house there's is a chorus of 'AWWW!!!'s from the girls. Cloud walks over to me, asking where the closest bedroom is, I give him directions, and then he carries you up the staircase and into a guest room. He places you down on the bed.
You open your eyes for a second, slightly drowsy. Cloud leans down and kisses your forehead.
“Go to sleep, ____.”
You give him a cheeky smile. You quickly reach up and pull him down onto the bed with you, wrapping your arms around him.
He gives you a smile, then wraps his arms around you too.
The two of you fall asleep like that, and everyone else gets banned from my guest room for the night on penalty of torture! Because you two look so damn cute :3