Cloud never really had many happy memories to look back fondly on. His young life was dreadful and lonely. His adult life was equally just as bleak. Save for the day he met Aerith, there weren't many bright moments he could store in his mind. But today was truly an exception. It was Aerith's first time on ice and it was a moment to behold. Being from the mountainous country-side of Nibelheim, snow and ice were what Cloud grew up with. Ever since he was very young, he would go ice-fishing to provide his mother and him food, and so walking on ice just came naturally to him. But to Aerith, the city girl... A snowball had a better chance in hell than her becoming even decent at this.

His arms were crossed and a faint smile was on his face, Cloud watched in amusement as Aerith slipped uncontrollably across the small frozen pond. Her arms flailed about like a fish on land but somehow, to Cloud, she looked graceful even doing that. The way the snow danced around her... Cloud had never seen anything more beautiful. But then again, he found himself thinking that quite a lot with her.

His head followed her every movement as she clumsily drifted on the pond. Taking his bodyguard job very seriously, when they first came across the frozen pond, Cloud advised her not to try it, but Aerith was hell-bent on experiencing everything the world had to offer and she demanded she get to walk on the ice before they reached their next destination. Crossing over the Nibelheim mountains could very well be their last chance to even see snow and Cloud couldn't say no.

"You alright?" Cloud hollered at her, his voice echoed through the valley. He was trying his best to disguise any hint of enjoyment he was getting out of this.

"Uh... y-yeah." Aerith tried to walk but at the first sign of slipping, she quickly stopped... or tried to at least. She was in the center of the pond now, stranded. She looked around for Cloud and gave him a stare that seemed to say enough is enough. She wasn't going to try and walk on ice anymore. Her city roots clearly made it impossible to learn such a country thing. But Cloud enjoyed the sight too much to end the fun so quickly.

"Oh, no. You said you could do it."

"No..." Aerith began. "I said I wanted to try."

Cloud shook his head and uncrossed his arms and pointed towards her, shaking his hand at her fib. "I distinctively remember you saying you'd be better at it than me in 10 minutes. And it's been I think twenty minutes now." Cloud smirked.

"It hasn't been that long." Aerith gasped, her eyes wide. And Cloud just nodded.

"Well, fine! Come over here and help me then."

"I don't know... It's pretty funny from where I'm at."

Aerith puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips, and like always she stomped her foot to show how displeased she was. But when she did it this time, it caused her to start losing her balance. Again, she slid backwards, her feet going in two different directions. She desperately flapped her arms like a bird to stabilize herself and after a few tries it actually worked. Her usually snowy-colored cheeks were now red from the cold, but the exasperated look in her eyes told Cloud that her face may be red from frustration, too.

"Oh, what do I pay you for!" she said with a huff as she placed her hands on her hips.

Cloud arched his brow at her, causing his eyes to slightly squint as he focused on her. A faint smirk grew on his face. "Yeah...You don't pay me." His voice trailed off. "... Not yet at least."

Aerith's heated gaze dwindled to a softness that she reserved just for him. Her taut lips blossomed into a vibrant smile, her pink lips against the backdrop of Nibelheim's snowy fields appeared to Cloud like a flower blooming from the depths of winter and like always, she effortlessly took his breath away.

Aerith picked up on Cloud's flirting and wasn't about to let it go to waste. "Yes, I did. In the park, remember?" She faked like she was offended by his poor memory, but she knew he remembered that date.

Cloud shook his head. "Nope, that was for me getting you to your house." Cloud gleefully watched as Aerith fought back a smile and a laugh. He enjoyed teasing her for a change.

"Okay!" she shouted over the howl of the winter winds. "I'll go on another date with you—" she couldn't hold back the smile on her face now. It wasn't very often that Cloud would initiate these kind of playful games and she was thoroughly enjoying the pleasant torture he was putting her through.

"Alright, but you're still short one date." Cloud said cockily as he stepped towards her, his feet now firmly planted on the ice. Aerith's shoulder slumped as her brows rose in confusion. "What are you talking abo—" but before she could finish, Cloud beat her to the chase.

"You never paid me back for rescuing you from Shinra." He took a few more steps forward, leaving only a few feet between him and Aerith and the Cetra felt butterflies take flight within her. She was thankful for the low temperature providing her a good excuse as to why her cheeks were so red. Being so close to her now, he could see the same rosy tint had spread to her nose. Small flakes of snow clung to her dark eyelashes and peppered her auburn hair. Her bottom lip had now started to quiver from the harsh winter winds and Cloud felt the sudden urge to wrap her in his arms.

Aerith gaped at him in disbelief and tried to keep herself from smiling even wider than she already was. "Just get me off of this ice and I'll give you as many dates as you want." she feigned like this wasn't what she wanted, but Cloud could see the sparkle of enjoyment in her evergreen eyes. He finally closed the gap between them, his steady steps impressing Aerith as he made his way towards her. Her flowery fragrance invaded Cloud's senses as he drew nearer. He wasn't as tall as Vincent or Barret, but standing this close to Aerith, he felt like he was towering over her small frame. They were just inches apart from each other now and Cloud looked at her with such intensity that Aerith felt like the ice would melt right from under her.

He slowly nodded at her, as if mesmerized by her beauty, as his blue eyes darted across her gentle features. And in that husky country accent that Aerith loved to listen to so much, Cloud murmured...

"Deal."

A/N: I fought the urge to write in a kiss so badly lol Anyway, I wrote this for Day 20 of #ClerithMonth. The theme was "Ice Skating". I hope you enjoyed it. I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things, at least I hope I am.