The air was cool; a soft breeze riffled through Cloud's fiercely spiked hair. He sat comfortably on the grass; his sword on the ground in front of him. The clear night sky was sprinkled with glittering stars.

"Oh, Cloud, isn't it beautiful?" Aeris sighed softly. She was seated on the grass beside him.

"Yeah…" Cloud breathed, gazing at the gentle flower merchant's uplifted face. He smiled slightly, and looked at the ground, at his sword. It glittered in the starlight, reflecting the placid night sky. He swallowed slowly, gathering courage. It was strange; after all his battles, and all his narrow escapes, all the times when it seemed hopeless, and death loomed directly ahead, after all that, something so simple, so innocent, so pure, took more bravery than anything else in his life. He smiled again. And swallowed again.

"…Aeris…" he took a deep breath, "Aeris, I-"

She turned to face him, their eyes meeting, "Hm?"

His heart leaped into his throat, stopping the words he longed to say. "I- er- I'm glad the, uh, sky is clear tonight." Ugh! Nice, Cloud. Real Nice. That's sure going to get my feelings across. Why couldn't I have said something romantic? Why? I'm such a nimrod!

"I'm glad too." Aeris agreed, completely oblivious to Cloud's emotional struggle. She laid back on the ground and sighed contentedly, "Sometimes, on nights like these, I wish that time would stop. Just for a little while."

Cloud laid back in the grass beside her, "So do I." And looking up at the night sky, at the thousands of tiny points of perfect light that sparkled and glittered and looked like nothing else in the whole entire world, he truly meant it.

He waited a few minutes, breathing deeply, his heart pounding furiously, and tried again, "Aeris… I… I wanted to tell you… to tell you that…"

"Yes?" she turned to him again, her soft, green eyes meeting his once more.

"… there's a cricket in your hair." And there was. He reached over, willing his hand not to shake, and carefully brushed it off.

Aeris giggled, "Thanks, Cloud."

"Yeah. Sure." He shut his eyes. Nuts. Missed my chance again. At least this time I didn't mention the weather…

He sat up, leaning forward slightly. Maybe he'd have better luck if he didn't look at her while he said it, "Aeris…" he swallowed one more time, "I… I… I-" He was stuck again.

ERRRG! He clutched a fistful of hair in each hand and leaned against his bent knees. Why was this so hard?

"Are you okay?" Aeris laid a hand on his shoulder. Cloud, startled, looked up, directly into her eyes. They were beautiful; so gentle, so full of love, reflecting the starlit sky.

This time he held her gaze. He took all his courage in one, gloved hand, holding it tight, and said, "Aeris, I've been meaning to tell you this for a long time." He took her hand off his shoulder and held it as if it were the most delicate thing on the Planet, "Aeris, I-"

"Hey you two!" Barret's voice came loud and clear from the Highwind's deck, "We got a $#$&# long way to go tomorrow. We gotta go halfway 'round the whole freakin' Planet to get to the City of the Ancients, an' I don't want to haf to carry you there 'cause you're fallin' asleep! So are you gonna come up here and get some #$ rest, or am I gonna hafta make you?"

Cloud yelled back, "Just a second!" he turned back to Aeris.

"We'd better go, Cloud." Aeris smiled, gently taking her hand from his, "You know how Barret gets." She stood, carefully dusting herself off, and walked towards the Highwind.

Cloud stood looking after her. He sighed wistfully; he had come so close to telling her how he felt.

Well, there's always tomorrow, he thought, brushing a stray lock of his yellow-blonde hair off his forehead. Anyhow, Barret's right; we've got a long day ahead of us, going to the City of the Ancients and all. I may as well try and get some rest…