Disclaimer: I wish I owned the pair, then everything would be different. Alas, I do not so don't sue.

A/N: Here's a oneshot in honor of the summer days that are coming up. Even the boys need a break one in awhile. Beta'd by Novelist Pup.

Warnings: Mild language, slight OOC, fluffyish.

Cloud stumbled out of Aerith's house clad in long navy swim trunks and a tacky orange Hawaiian shirt that used to belong to Cid. They were the only items of clothing left in his closet, as everything else had 'mysteriously' disappeared. Cloud had a sneaking suspicion it was Yuffie's handiwork, prompted by Aerith. The woman had not so subtly been hinting that he should take a break from all the sparring and being moody to enjoy the summer days. Apparently having the Darkness around and Sephiroth being a constant pain in his ass wasn't a good enough reason not to have at least one day of relaxation.

The blond would have continued to at least practice his fighting skills even in Cid's borrowed clothes, except Aerith had hidden his sword. He didn't know how she did it, as his sword was huge, but she did and in its place Aerith had forced a Popsicle into his hand. It was a sad replacement for his beloved Buster sword, but at least it was cherry flavored.

Grumbling and resigning himself to a day of 'relaxation' Cloud walked down the narrow pathway that led to Aerith's garden out back. His flip-flops slapped against the sun-warmed stepping-stones, but Cloud tried to ignore it with a slight frown. They hadn't even left him his boots. His mood perked up as he walked around back and noticed a familiar brunet sprawled out in a plastic lounge chair.

"They get to you too?" Cloud asked as he plopped down into the chair parallel to Leon's. At least the brunet didn't look half bad in his black trunks with a sleek pair of sunglasses perched on his straight nose. His shirt was carelessly discarded on the back of the chair leaving a lot of tanned skin open for viewing pleasure.

The brunet didn't respond and Cloud cocked an eyebrow in question before he took a closer look and noticed Leon was sleeping. A smirk crawled across the blonde's face at the golden opportunity. It wasn't often Leon was relaxed enough to sleep out in the open. The brunet had mentioned something about being vulnerable to attack but today seemed to be an exception. With the hot sun beating down and white puffy clouds lazily drifting against the crystal blue sky by a light wind, it seemed the biggest form of attack would come from sunburn.

Although Leon still seemed to have that almost permanent frown fixed in place and Cloud thought he'd fix that. The brunet needed to lighten up or moreover in Yuffie's words, 'turn that frown upside down.' But how? Cloud was distracted when a bead of cherry juice from his Popsicle dripped down his hand and he looked from the treat to Leon and back again. A perfectly mischievous smirk curled up the corners of Cloud's mouth as he quietly got up and headed back towards the kitchen for his plan.

He needed more Popsicles.

--

Tifa was beyond hot as she trudged into Aerith's kitchen after a long day of working in her bar. Her air conditioner was broken and she either had to close down her bar early or suffer heat exhaustion. She needed something to cool down and she opened up the freezer to get something to eat. "Hey Aerith, I thought you just bought a box of Popsicles," the woman called out as she pulled out the empty box of frozen treats. All twenty-four of them were gone.

"I did," Aerith said puzzled as she walked into the kitchen, waving a paper fan in front of her.

"Well who ate them all?" Tifa said in a frustrated tone as she shut the door, tossing the empty box on the counter. Damn it, she needed something to cool her down and she'd kill whoever took all the Popsicles.

"Cloud Strife!" Leon roared and both women turned towards the open back door where a laughing blond ran past them.

"Thanks for the Popsicles, Aerith!" he called out as he ran by the pair, Popsicle sticks sticking to his skin and his hands a mess of colors.

Leon was not far behind him, a cherry red smile painted on his face and a bunch of multi-colored designs drawn on his arms and stomach. Written in huge dripping letters of varying colors across his chest was the word CLOUD'S.

The back door slammed shut after Leon and the women could hear a yelp coming from the front yard, no doubt Cloud's, as the brunet caught up with him. "I guess that answers that question," Aerith murmured with a slight smile as she handed Tifa a cool glass of water.

Next time she'd just remember to buy two packs of Popsicles.