Chapter 7 – Maid Cloud

Aerith stretched that morning with a groan and turned to her blond spikey haired glowering accomplice with a smile. "Right, we've got a big day ahead of us! Let's get cleaning."

"Yipee," Cloud grumbled sarcastically and glared at his friend in annoyance. Yuffie had asked Aerith the day before what they would be doing and had cackled madly when she heard , and true to Cloud's terrible gut feeling, she's prepared a bright blue, tight fitting corset and a flared out skirt, and, horror upon horrors, had found a pair of blue high heeled shoes that Cloud would swear himself blind were plastic Barbie high heel shoes, thus completing the very ideal of the sky blue maids outfit, which Cloud absolutely despised. Thankfully she'd forgone any of those thigh high stockings and garters, for the moment, and blue was definitely better than pink. Far better.

"Oh cheer up Cloud, you look wonderful. The blue really suits you and you look extremely cute."

"I'm not sure whether that's supposed to make me feel better or worse," Cloud grumbled but climbed down off the dresser anyway. "Come on, let's just get started."

Aerith sighed and complied, pulling out her duster. Picking the blond up, she moved both of them downstairs and into the lounge room. "Where should we start?" the brunette woman asked as she gazed thoughtfully around the lounge room.

"You dust, I'll clean underneath everything," Cloud announced and jumped off his friend's shoulder, squeaking when the short skirt flew up and he landed awkwardly on the high heels Yuffie had stuffed him into while pushing the skirt down. "I still can't believe my feet fit into Barbie high heels," the blond grumbled as he staggered for the shelves before kicking them off halfway there. "Stupid shoes…"

Aerith giggled and followed her instructions on the opposite side of the room. "Yell if you need help."

"Sure," Cloud agreed and crawled under the book case. Coughing and waving a hand in front of his face, Cloud blinked at the grey covering of dust he was kneeling in. "Ick…" he mumbled and dusted his hands off. "Right, let's get started."

Standing as high as he could, which wasn't very far, Cloud began aiming for small rises in the giant dust piles that may or may not be anything. After wading through three piles that came up to his chest, Cloud hit something soft. "Aerith!" he called loudly before coughing.

"Yes Cloud?"

"Could you get me something to stop me choking on dust please?" he asked while dragging the sock towards the light.

"Um, sure. Will a small piece of cloth do?"

"Yep!"

"Alright, I'll be back in a minute," she replied and Cloud caught a glimpse of the brunette woman walking into her sewing room just as he dragged the sock into the light.

Cloud sneezed as the dust cleared and Aerith giggled when she walked back out. "Damn dust," he snuffled and gratefully took the tissue the woman offered him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Will this do the trick?" she asked and offered him a small square of plain blue cloth.

Nodding, Cloud smiled and took the cloth, tying it around his mouth and nose like a makeshift mask. "Yup, thanks." Sighing, he turned and around, took a deep breath and braced himself. "Right, back to the dusty realm I go. Save me if I start being buried alive?"

Aerith giggled and nodded. "Sure thing Cloud."

Smiling, he quickly darted under the shelving again. Two keys, a brown ribbon that was actually supposed to be pink, a hair brush, two more smelly socks and a fur ball later, Cloud emerged from underneath the bookcase coughing and spluttering. "Damn that's nasty," he muttered and gratefully breathed in the fresh air for a minute or so before diving underneath the TV cabernet.

Aerith was sweeping the kitchen floor when a rather high pitched scream ripped through the silence surrounding her and she dropped the broom and rushed into the lounge room. "Cloud?"

She stopped and stared as her shrunk blond friend was running around in circles in the middle of the floor screaming with a rather large hairy black spider chasing him. "!" Cloud screeched, his voice rapidly getting louder and higher as he glanced over his shoulder and took in the hairy black face and body that at least half his size and was quickly catching up. "UWAAAAAAH!"

Thinking quickly, Aerith grabbed a large glass from the sink that Yuffie had been using this morning, emptied the leftover water into the sink and rushed back into the other room, trapping the spider underneath the glass.

You could almost hear it screeching as it leapt against the glass in fury. "What did you do to it?" Aerith asked curiously as she watched the spider.

"I don't know!" Cloud wailed. "I think I might have walked into its web. One minute I was spider free, the next it was trying to make me spider food!"

"It's alright Cloud," Aerith soothed and looked thoughtfully at the black monster. "How about we put you outside, hmm? You're probably hungry," she cooed and stood up.

"Don't just put it outside," Cloud argued and glanced back nervously. "Kill it!"

"I'm not about to do that Cloud," Aerith said gently and grabbed one of Cid's magazines off the bookcase. She slipped the magazine underneath the glass and spider and carted it outside, releasing it with a shake into the bushes. It quickly disappeared from view and she walked back inside.

"Is it gone?" Cloud asked anxiously as he tried to peer out at the world beyond Aerith s legs and the door.

"It's gone," she replied calmly and shut the door.

"Good. I hate spiders," he explained with a shiver and rubbed one of his arms. "Especially when they're half my size."

Aerith laughed and bent down to hold out a hand. "Are you done cleaning underneath the cupboards?"

"Not quite…"

"Well, let me know when you're finished and I'll run you a bath, okay? You look like you need one desperately."

Cloud looked down at the previously bright blue maid's uniform he was wearing, which was now a dusty grey. "I think so too. I'll let you know. Thanks Aerith."

Aerith smiled and shook her head as she watched her friend disappear cautiously underneath the TV cabernet again. Poor Cloud. She hoped this spell was going to wear off soon, although she had to admit that there was something completely irresistible about Cloud in this form. He's so cute!

Cloud was getting sick of this. He was currently under the TV cabernet and wading through yet another mound of dust. He was sure he was completely grey, and he felt like a polar bear with a thick layer of dust instead of fur keeping him warm.

Swearing as he accidently kicked something, he plunged his hands down through the fog of settled dust and found a large rectangular box. Making his way behind it carefully, Cloud began pushing the box towards the light. It was an old TV remote that belonged to a TV they no longer had.

"Well that can be thrown," he announced and stretched before heading under the TV cabernet again.

Walking around, Cloud stepped on something that crinkled. Kneeling down, he reached out a grey hand and wiped what was under his foot clean. It was sticky tape.

Reaching out, Cloud found the end of the tape and pulled. A cloud of dust flew up into the air that made the blond cough loudly, staggering back out to the light while it cleared and he could breathe again.

When it was safe for him to go back under, he picked up the now dust coated sticky tape and found the sticky side no long sticky. Taking a deep breath, Cloud heaved the sticky tape again and it peeled up off the ground sending more dust flying into the limited air.

Coughing again, Cloud stepped back and looked at the situation again, thinking of possible alternatives. Maybe he could roll it…

Starting with the end he'd started with, Cloud began rolling the tape and rolled along on all fours, pushing harder when he reached the sticky areas. "Ick…"

Unsticking his hands and grimacing at the feel of glue underneath his knees, Cloud kept going, the roll of sticky tape and dust growing with each roll. Pretty soon the roll reached over Cloud's head and by the time the sticky tape roll was done, the blond was standing up and pushing it along.

Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, Cloud climbed over the roll of tape and began pushing it back down the now very clean and out of place looking strip of wooden flooring.

Without realising it, his skirt stuck to the sticky tape and steadily rolled up. It wasn't until Cloud felt the tug that he stopped. Scowling, he put one hand against the tape and pulled at the dress with his other. It came free and he frowned as he realised his hand was now stuck. He'd been using dusty patches to roll the sticky tape before, so no glue.

Sighing, Cloud placed his other hand against the sticky tape and pulled. It didn't come loose, and now his other hand was stuck as well.

Scowling, Cloud attempted to push the roll the few inches it needed to the edge and squeaked as it rolled unexpectedly, pulling him over the top of it and falling underneath it, his body getting stuck to the sticky tape.

Sighing heavily, Cloud attempted to get the large mass of sticky tape off him and yelled for Aerith when he found he couldn't.

"Coming Cloud!" she called and the blond heard footsteps walk into the lounge room. "Where are you?"

"Under the TV cabernet! I'm stuck!"

There was quiet for a few seconds before Aerith was heard walking over and kneeling down. Her eye appeared and she blinked in confusion as it darted around the darkened space. "Where are you?"

"Stuck to the big ball of sticky tape," he admitted and wiggled his feet, helping to draw her attention.

Recognition dawned and a few seconds later a hand reached under to gently grab the ball and wriggle it out. "What a big ball of sticky tape," she murmured with a smile as she gently pried her friend off the glue coated plastic.

"Yep," Cloud agreed with a grin as he was pulled free before having a sneezing fit. Sniffling once it died down, he groaned and rubbed his nose.

Aerith smiled fondly. "Had enough?"

"Yep," he agreed and sneezed again.

"Come on, I'll run you a bath in the kitchen."

"Why the kitchen?" he whined.

"Because that way I'll at least know where you are if something happens."

"Nothing is going to happen."

"Another spider could show up."

That shut Cloud up really quickly.

"Ew! What the hell were you doing today?" Yuffie asked loudly the second she took in the once blue and now grey clothes.

"Cleaning?" Cloud asked quietly as he sat curled up on a cushion with a warm drink in his pyjamas.

Aerith smiled. "He was helping me."

"I know that! I didn't think you'd get QUITE that dirty thank you, so forgive me for being surprised!" She huffed and dropped the clothes on the table again. "I'll throw them in with my clothes later on tonight. You owe me Cloud," the ninja grumbled as she stalked upstairs, leaving a grinning Cloud watching her.

"She's going to try and get me back tomorrow isn't she?" he announced happily.

"Probably," Aerith agreed with a laugh and a smile. "Come on, you've had a big day. Let's get you upstairs and into bed."

"But I'm not… sleepy…" Cloud protested, his protest being quickly discredited by the huge yawn that forced itself into his sentence.

"Sure you aren't," she answered with a grin and picked the blond up. "Come on."

Putting his cup down, Cloud allowed himself to be picked up and carted upstairs to Yuffie's doll house. They found Yuffie sitting down at her laptop, downloading some pictures that she quickly closed when she heard them.

"Bedtime already?" she asked with a grin as she took in the sleepy look on the blond fighters face.

"Yes, it is," Aerith murmured as she placed Cloud in the bedroom. "Goodnight Cloud. See you in the morning."

"Night Aerith," Cloud murmured as he rolled into the bed and pulled the covers over his shoulders. Within seconds he was dead to the world.

You would not believe how dirty Cloud's outfit managed to get today. I'd post a pic but it's seriously disgusting. It's gone from blue to grey. I'm not entirely sure how… I thought dust was brown…

Well, either way, here is mini Cloud in a maid's outfit. He owes me! So tomorrows will be somewhat fun. J Talk to you all tomorrow!

Greatestninjaever~!

I'm so sorry this took me so long to update! I've been really busy lately and all sorts of things have happened that shouldn't have happened. I apologise in full, and will work diligently to get the next chapter written and posted within a week, I hope. If i don't manage it I apologise and will post another one-shot fic i've been working on recently, once I get it written up of course. . *sighs*

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, and I sincerely hope you're all having a better week than I am. It's been shite so far. :(

Until next time...

Vex