↳ ffvii (final fantasy seven) one shots || vol. 1

i'll pay || scenario - cloud

my friend (lol) asked: Birthday girl here! Thanks so much for writing me a birthday request! The reader, a friend of Tifa, is moving into one of the empty apartments near the bar due to a recent breakup with her ex. Tifa asks/sort of makes cloud help you move in, and even though he agrees, hes reluctant to help until he actually meets the reader, and its love at first sight for him. After that, hes a flustered mess from then on! I think everybody loves a flustered Cloud! Thanks again, you're an angel

❀

He doesn't want to do it, but he feels like he owes a debt to Tifa. She helped find him his apartment, helped him gain a reputation around the slums so he could earn more Gil, and gradually convinced Barret that he wasn't that bad of a guy after all. Helping one of her friends, a stranger to him, move into the apartment that was recently vacated isn't too much to ask considering all she has done for him. Although, he can think of about a hundred things he'd rather do than interact with someone he doesn't know. He tries to reason with himself that you're Tifa's friend, you surely are a decent person, that much he's certain about. Tifa would only surround herself with genuine people.

"Come on, chin up," she says as she leads him towards the apartment block. "She's a really nice girl, easy to talk to. All you have to do is help her move a couple things in and push them into the places she wants them to be and then you're all done. She even said she'd pay you."

He can't help but sigh, nods nonetheless, following Tifa up the stairs to the row of apartments. The door at the end of the balcony is wide open, boxes stacked outside on top of a battered wooden desk, a welcome mat already set on the floor outside the door. Tifa knocks on the door frame when she reaches it, smiling brightly at who he can only presume to be you when her red orbs find you. She briefly turns to Cloud and beckons him to follow, before disappearing into the small apartment.

Sucking in a deep breath, he follows, crossing his arms over his chest instinctively, lowering his eyes to the ground as he follows her inside. The floor is covered in boxes and other random objects, and he looks away abashed when he sees an open box what he can only bring himself to describe as undergarments. Half of the other boxes are empty, whereas some have clearly not been touched since they were sealed, the words 'kitchen' and 'toiletries' marked neatly on the top in large, bold black letters.

"Hey! How are you finding everything?" Tifa asks. Cloud drums his fingers against his arm anxiously. A friend of Tifa's, he reminds himself.

"Overwhelming, but I'm getting there," you respond, and Cloud's tongue suddenly feels heavy in his mouth when he hears your melodic voice. He feels your eyes land on him, burning into his skull, but he ignores your piercing gaze the best he can. "Is this your friend?"

"Sure is!" Tifa grabs Cloud's arm and tugs him forward, and he lets out a disgruntled noise of surprise as he stumbles forwards. His gaze shoots upwards, and he glares in Tifa's direction as heat creeps up his neck from embarrassment. "This is Cloud. He's going to be helping you out today!"

His gaze snaps to you before he can even think, and the air is instantly knocked out of him. You look like an angel, everything about you seemingly gifted from god. There's not a strand of your hair out of place, your eyes sparkle warmly at him in greeting as you offer him a bright smile that dazzles him. The words get stuck on the tip of his tongue, and all he can do it lift his hand awkwardly in greeting, quickly snapping his gaze back down to his feet and silently cursing at himself for his shyness.

Why did he have to be so damn awkward?

You airy giggle sends pleasant tinges from his ears down to the soles of his feet, and he swallows nervously as he feels your eyes rake over him unashamedly. He squirms in his spot, and he can't help but hate himself for how weird he must seem right now. But truthfully, he's never been in the presence of someone as attractive as you, and no one has ever had this kind of effect over him before. Sure, he's found women attractive, but no one compares to you in his eyes, that much is obvious to him.