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404gendernotfound · 1 year

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Happy Birthday (Cloud x Reader)

Summary: Your birthday was around the corner. You didn’t know that your friends had planned a surprise party and that a certain someone had a very special gift for you.

Contains: fluff

Warnings: non

Wordcount: 3,4 K

This story has been sitting in my drafts for over a year now and I finally got the motivation to finish it. Hope you like it.

Enjoy!

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You never thought this day would come where you finally managed to celebrate your birthday with your closest friends and members of Avalanche. When you first arrived at the Sector 7 Slums you weren’t quite sure what life had in store for you. You didn’t have enough money to pay for the bare minimum and you definitely had nothing or no one you knew in this part of Midgar. The first few weeks you had spent with a family that had met you the first day when you were lost and didn’t know where to go. They let you spend your time in their guestroom while you went out to search for a job and then for an affordable place to live. To your luck you found a part-time job at Seventh Heaven where you got to know Tifa, Barret and his daughter Marlene. You actually had to thank the little girl for dragging you into Seventh Heaven one day when she saw how beautiful your hair looked, decorated with little accessories you had made yourself and wanted to know if you could show her how you made your hair look that nice. Barrett had apologized for his daughters behavior but you just thought it was cute. Tifa was the one who suggested you to take the job offer at Seventh Heaven since you were searching for a job and they were searching for someone to help out. And since Merlene had already approved of you there was nothing standing in the way. After working there for about a month you managed to leave to live on your own in one of the rooms that Marle was renting to people around the city. To your surprise someone had moved into the room to your right shortly after you, but you had never seen them before. You were working your shift when Barret, Jessie, Bigs, Wedge and a blond-haired man walked into the bar. Barrett instantly went to check up on Marlene and while Tifa was walking over to Jessie, Bigs and Wedge you stood behind the bar and looked at this new person that you had never seen before.

“Hi. I’ve never seen you here before. Are you a friend of Tifa?”, I asked as he kept staring at the counter.

“Kinda.”, was everything he answered.

The atmosphere was really awkward and you really hoped that someone would help you out in this situation. It was your luck that Tifa came back behind the bar just after exchanging some words with the others and saved you from the awkwardness.

“Cloud are you making our Y/N uncomfortable?”, she asked laughing and watched as the blond haired lifted his head to look at her.

Just now you noticed his beautiful blue green eyes. He must be a soldier since his eyes looked just like the ones of soldiers affected by the mako. Cloud had this deadpan look on his face as he looked over at you before he turned to Tifa again.

“I didn’t do anything”, he mumbled and looked back at the counter as if he didn’t want to be here.

That day the bar was filled with a really awkward atmosphere and it didn’t get better when you left the bar and noticed that you and Cloud were walking in the same direction, towards the apartment block Stargazer Heights. Just as he stopped at the room right next to yours you realized that he was the new neighbor that you had never seen before. After that day Tifa tried to motivate Cloud and you to talk to each other at the bar. Most of the time it just ended up with Cloud listening to you as you rambled about something while he just watched you with his usual expressionless face. You didn’t really mind since you had gotten used to his presence at the bar and it even felt a little bit weird when he wasn’t there when you worked. Even though Cloud didn’t really talk to you, you had gotten to know a lot about him. Tifa told you about how they grew up together and how Cloud was an ex soldier. You also heard that he wasn’t actually as cold as he looked but that it just took him a long time to open up to someone. It almost sounded to you as if Tifa tried to encourage you to talk to him more.

Somehow you two once ended up at the bar alone and since no one was there to drink since it was the middle of the day, you had watched as Cloud walked over to the dart board and started to throw one perfect dart after the other without even thinking about the next move. Cloud had noticed of course that you were watching him and for some reason he hoped that you would just walk over and ask him how he was throwing those darts so effortlessly. He had noticed that he wasn’t actually feeling too bad when you were around and if that wasn’t enough already he had also noticed how he would just unintentionally walk into the bar when he knew you were there. He was lost in his thoughts when he suddenly noticed that you were standing right next to him staring at the dart board with a wide open mouth.

“How?”, was everything you could say as you picked the arrows from the board, all stuck in the triple 20.

“I guess practice”, he said trying to keep his mouth from curling into a smile since you looked cute as you looked at him completely fascinated.

“Can you show me? I’ve never played darts before”, you admitted.

“Sure”, he said and showed you how you had to throw the darts to hit exactly where you wanted them to land.

It was really hard for you and it made him slightly smile as he watched you fail over and over again just to grab the darts and walk back over to him and try again.

“You really are bad at this”, he said which made you scoff.

“I can’t help it. I’m not made to throw darts, I guess”

“Or you’re just getting distracted”, he added and watched you turn towards him.

“And whose fault is that?”, you asked and regretted what you said after you saw his slightly shocked face.

Your heart was suddenly beating out of your chest and even though you thought it was only you who suddenly felt nervous, Cloud felt the same. He usually didn’t let anyone get near him but somehow he couldn’t even go one day without seeing you. Maybe he had just gotten used to your endless rambling and getting distracted mid-sentence when he suddenly locked eyes with you. He thought that maybe he was feeling that way about you just because he was getting to know you slowly but he started to realize that there was much more to it than he wanted to admit. Before your birthday was coming up he had already thought about what he should give you as a gift. He somehow felt the need to have something meaningful that would make you smile and happy. Since Tifa had planned a surprise party for you she had also called up Aerith to join you at the bar. That was the perfect opportunity for him to get you the perfect gift. He had asked her to bring a beautiful bouquet with her so he could gift that to you after the party was over. He had planned everything from start to finish but everything somehow turned out different. You weren’t aware that your friends had planned something so you were confused when you entered the bar and everyone was there.

“Happy birthday Y/n”, everyone said in unison making you smile like an idiot.

“Tifa…I told you no surprises please”, you scolded her as she walked over to hug you.

“Sorry but I couldn’t stop myself. Also I thought you might want to see Aerith so I invited her, but she said she might be a bit late.”, Tifa said smiling, her arms still around you as you looked at her.

Cloud noticed how something began to sting in his heart and it didn’t take him long to figure out that he was jealous that Tifa was hugging you this close while he was refraining from doing anything embarrassing in front of the others. While everyone congratulated and showered you with affection and small gifts Cloud hoped that Aerith would get here soon so he could borrow you for some minutes to give you the flowers without everyone knowing about it. But of course it couldn’t be that easy. While you unpacked your gifts Cloud received a message that Aerith would be later than expected and that she would stop by his room to take the flowers there before coming to the bar. Maybe it was the best idea to give you the flowers after the party when it was just the two of you. Cloud sat at the bar while you had sparkling eyes as you unpacked your favorite card game from your childhood that Jessie had gifted you.

“Oh my god. I didn’t know you could still buy this. Where did you find this?”, you asked excited as you pressed the card game to your heart smiling like a child.

“I have my ways. You talked about it so much that it wasn’t too hard to find after all. I hope you like it”, she said laughing and ruffled your hair.

“Thank you so much I love it. Hey everyone let’s play this together!”, you said in a loud voice so everyone would here you in the bar.

Cloud already internally rolled his eyes. He wasn’t the type to be into card games, especially when he had to interact with the other players so he’d rather just stay seated at the bar and not have to deal with the game. But of course you were determined to get him to play with you.

“Hey, Cloud. Will you play the game with us?”, you asked as you had walked over to him.

“I don’t really like card games. I’ll pass”, he said with a cold voice.

“Oh…come on. It’s my birthday after all so you have to play with us. Pleeeeaaaase Cloud”, you begged showing your most effective puppy eyes so he would fall for it and play with you.

But to your surprise he stayed cold and shook his head.

“Sorry”, was everything you received from him before he turned to Tifa who was standing behind the bar and watched the two of you.

You had already gone back to the table where the others sat waiting for you to explain the game to them as Tifa started to talk to Cloud.

“Come on Cloud. If you can’t even fulfill a simple wish like this on her birthday then when will you ever.”, she tried to reason with him.

He knew that she was right. He stood up from his seat and walked over to the table where you were sitting.

“It there still a spot for me?”, he asked as he stood right next to you.

You were confused about why he suddenly wanted to play too but at the same time you couldn’t wish for something better.

“Of course. You can sit here”, you said and pointed to the chair right next to yours.

While you started to explain the game to everyone Cloud couldn’t take his eyes off of you. He had never seen you talk about something this passionate and it made him really happy to see how you were basically glowing. The game wasn’t too complicated and after a few test rounds to see if everyone had understood it you were actually having a lot of fun. Even Cloud looked like he was enjoying it. You couldn’t help but sneak a glance at him from time to time. It was really rare to see him this concentrated on something and even though he did it unconsciously there sometimes was a little smile painted on his face that made your heart flutter. You were about to start the next round when the door opened and Aerith walked in.

“Am I too late?”, she asked smiling as you stood up from your chair and rushed over.

“Aerith. You made it. I’m so glad to see you”, you said as you hugged her tight.

While you were busy hugging her Aerith showed a thumbs up towards Cloud. He sighed relieved that everything was somehow working out in the end. She smiled at you as you separated from the hug and pulled out a single yellow flower from behind her back.

“Since I didn’t want to come empty handed I thought maybe you’d like this one”, she explained as she placed the flower in your hair.

You slightly blushed since everyone was looking at you right now and you weren’t exactly the person that liked to be the center of attention.

“Thanks Aerith. I love it”

She smiled at you satisfied before she walked over to Tifa. You walked back to the table were Cloud and the others were already waiting for you. The more you played, the more you forgot the time and it somehow was past 3am when you finished your last round. You were pretty tired, so were the others. While Jessie, Bigs and Wedge had already left and only Tifa, Aerith, Cloud and you were left you decided to help cleaning up the mess you had made throughout the evening. But as you attempted to do that Tifa had stopped you.

“It’s late already. You should go to sleep. Cloud will take you home”, she said as she looked over at the blond standing there as if he had already been waiting for you.

“But”, you started to say but were stopped by Aerith pushing you towards the exit.

“No buts. Tifa and I will clean everything and you go to bed and get some rest”

Since it looked like there was no way to convince them you just gave up and left 7th Heaven together with Cloud. You both were quiet throughout the whole walk back to the apartments. Just before you arrived at your room Cloud spoke up.

“Could you come to my room for a moment? I have something for you”, he asked.

“Uhm…s-sure”

You were a bit confused but followed Cloud into his room. You closed the door behind you and waited for his next move.

“Close your eyes and don’t move”, he said as he grabbed the bouquet that Aerith had prepared for you.

You were getting nervous as you heard him walk closer to you again. Cloud stood right in front of you with the bouquet in his hands as he thought about what he could say to you. He was noticing how he was getting nervous.

“Open your eyes”

You slowly opened them just to see him standing there with a bouquet of yellow and white flowers, just like the one that Aerith had brought you before.

“Happy birthday”

“Cloud”, you said in a confused voice as he gave you the flowers.

You couldn’t help but smell them before you looked at him again. You noticed your cheeks heat up as Cloud stood there fiddling with his hands.

“I didn’t know what I should get you but I remembered that you once told me you liked flowers. I hope you like them”, he explained, his cheeks blushing a little bit too.

“Thank you. I love them. They are beautiful”, you answered and noticed a single tear of joy leaving your right eye.

Cloud looked at you a little bit concerned. He didn’t want to make you cry with his gift. He mindlessly reached out to brush the tear from your face until he realized what he was doing. But instead of letting him pull his hand away, you grabbed it quickly enough and pressed your face against it. Cloud was a little confused at your action but still went with it. He brushed the tear from your face with his thumb and stepped closer to you. You couldn’t help but look up at the taller man in front of you who was secretly admiring your beauty, cursing himself internally that he couldn’t muster up the courage to kiss you. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the soft strokes of Clouds thumb running over your cheek.

“I like you”

The words slipped from your lips so easily and went straight to Clouds heart. He stopped his movements and just looked at you. Your eyes slowly opened again and instantly met his. Clouds lips were slightly parted as he leaned closer, making your noses touch.

“Me, too”, he whispered before he grabbed the bouquet from your hands and placed it on the nightstand without moving away from you.

He slowly wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you closer with one gentle pull. Your bodies slowly pressed against each other and his body flooded yours with warmth. Cloud looked down at you, both your hearts hammering against your ribcages as he leaned down to your ear.

“I like you, too”, he whispered and placed a soft kiss on your cheek.

A shiver ran down your spine as his words reached your brain. You were at a loss for words. Your brain felt like mush as his words repeated in your mind over and over again. Cloud brought you back to reality when he wrapped his arm tightly around you, pulling you into a tight hug with him burying his face in your neck. It took you a little while to process what was happening before you wrapped your arms around him too, keeping him as close to you as possible. Both your heartbeats were still racing and Clouds thoughts were all over the place. He wanted to let go of the hug and kiss you but at the same time he feared that if he would let go of you, you would just disappear.

“Cloud?”, you asked as he moved away from you.

“Yes?”

“Can we stay like this a little bit longer?”

Clouds heart almost dropped from his chest as your words reached his ears. You didn’t want to let go of him and that made him extremely happy.

“Of course”, he whispered with a huge smile on his face.

You closed your eyes and once more pulled him closer to you. After what felt like ages you separated from the hug, both of your cheeks a light pink as you looked at each other. What both of you wanted was to kiss the other, but both of you didn’t want to rush the other. Your eyes wandered from his eyes to his lips and back. Cloud noticed that and softly placed his right hand on your cheek, while his left hand wandered to the small of your back.

“Can I kiss you?”, he asked in such a soft voice you felt your heart melting.

“Please”

Cloud pulled your body closer before he softly placed his lips on yours. You both closed your eyes and your arms found their place around his neck keeping him close to you. Your heart was beating so fast you feared it would burst out of your chest. Cloud didn’t feel any different than you. His heart was just as fast as yours and if it wasn’t for you holding onto him so tight he would think he was dreaming. The kiss lasted for what felt like an eternity before you separated from him. Your eyes locked with his and a smile crept onto your face.

“This is the best birthday ever”, you said smiling like an idiot.

Your words made Cloud let out a chuckle and he leaned his forehead against yours.

“You are so cute”, he said before he wrapped his arms around you and lifted you up.

You looked down at him laughing and wrapped your legs around his body. Cloud looked up at you and smiled. He swore to himself then and there that he would never let you go ever again and that he would protect your laugh until the day he died.

#ff7 #ff7 cloud #ffvii #cloud x reader #cloud strife

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