Smile for Me! | Cloud x Reader
TW: Light alcohol consumption?
Perhaps it was pushy or downright childish, but you were determined. You were going to make Cloud Strife smile.
As in the name, a smile from Strife was like finding gold in a river. Extremely rare and hard to obtain. Despite its rarity, you were ecstatic to see him make one, especially if it was because of you. And you weren’t going to settle for just any smile. You were going for the jackpot.
Your first tactic? Jokes.
You weren’t exactly confident in it, since Cloud was never one to make or laugh at jokes. But it was a starter, and you needed to gauge what a smile would even look like on Strife. Not to mention how much it would take to get one out of him.
It was a quiet evening at Seventh Heaven, with most of the rag-tag group playing cards while Tifa mixed a drink and Barret talked with Marlene. Cloud was leaning against the wall near the jukebox, half listening to the music half readying to leave for the night.
You were at the bar nursing a light cosmo canyon when you decided now was a good time as any.
> “Hey, Cloud! What do you call a female chocobo?”
In his perspective, that was incredibly random, and he began questioning just how sober you were until he realized you hadn’t really drank much at all. Swallowing the hesitance in his voice, he responded with a small:
A light chuckle escaped your lips as you lifted your eyebrows, hoping your silly mannerisms would be enough to at least crack a grin.
A loud snort resounded out where Barret had been, and Tifa covered her mouth in silent amusement. But Cloud? He just froze as if you’d shot him.
> “Get it? Because kweh, because chocobos-
And that marked your first failure. You didn’t really know what you were expecting, but his reaction didn’t leave much to go off of. He left before you could even see much of his face!
However, there was a reason why you’d been part of Avalanche, and it was because you were stubborn. Stubborn for what you wanted, and Gaia knew you wouldn’t stop until you got it.
Your next phase of the plan was a little more hands-on. Your mission tomorrow would have you going to several marketplaces to fill up ammo and food reserves. The best opportunity to obtain some gifts.
Granted, you didn’t know what kinds of things Cloud liked. Well, besides money. But you were determined to find something that at least would make his expression shift.
You wondered aloud as you perused the streets, your shopping for the others slung around your shoulders.
No, he’s super attached to his. He sharpens it quite frequently, which led to your second idea. Whetstones?
> “No, no, that’s boring. He wouldn’t smile at something so trivial.”
Someone, a clerk desperate for business, must have heard you, because he immediately began calling out to you. Waving a hand towards his shop. Curious, you dragged your eyes around the shop until you spotted what the man sold.
> “You know, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I think I have the perfect gift for your friend.”
He smiled as you came closer, eyeing the glowing orbs inside a plastic case.
> “Y’see, everyone knows materia is priceless and precious to boot. If you got him one, I think he’d be pretty happy.”
The man was shady at best, but he did have a point. Materia was pretty precious, and you’d seen how Cloud eyed them whenever the team traveled around. It would be a perfect gift. Relenting, you nodded slowly.
> “Hmm, depends, what you got?”
The man immediately grinned, happy to have finally gotten someone to buy from him, and began pointing towards several materia.
> “There’s healing materia -always good for fighters- and there’s a wide selection of elemental materia…”
> “Wait, what’s that one?”
A certain yellow one caught your eye, distinct among the other greens and blues. Quick in his sales pitch, the man nodded approvingly.
> “Ah, that one is a special one. It records sounds. Ambient materia, we call it. It’s not very practical in battle, though.”
Already making up your mind, you deposited the gil needed on the counter and nodded. The man was happy to give you a cheap black box to hold the orb once you walked back out.
> “Ambient materia, huh? I hope this makes him smile.”
That night in Seventh Heaven, you’d been visibly antsy. Cloud was on another mission, one that crawled deep into the afternoon. However, the others have said he’d be back by nightfall.
The moment he walked in had you lightly bouncing on your heels from where you sat at the bar. Tifa struggled to contain her light giggles, amusement on her face as she watched your antics.
> “What is it this time? You planning on pranking him or something?”
She whispered in your ear, receiving a small shake of the head.
> “Of course not! I did something better.”
As the swordsman sat down on a far table, slight exhaustion etched on his features, you waited before carefully approaching. He didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
Smiling, you presented the box, which you had adorned with a small yellow lace to match the materia. You hoped it would elicit some form of excitement, but it was hard to tell if it worked.
You added after he gave you a confused look. Slowly, he took it, giving a minute glance at the ribbon before opening the box. Once he saw its contents, the furrowed ridge of his eyebrows lifted slightly. Lips twitching once before settling.
You had come to know this as his “surprised face”.
You chirped, only to be given a hesitant gaze.
He asked firmly, but he didn’t rush you in the way he normally did when he talked.
> “Ambient materia. It records stuff, so you can use it to record whatever sounds or voices you need.”
A thoughtful hum and monotonous “thanks” was all you received before he left for bed. With that, you plopped back on your perch near Tifa and sighed. While that went differently, you wouldn’t call it a success. With no progress and even less gil than you came in with, your second attempt was a failure.
Your third try, you’d say, was your least planned out. Everything you tried before felt like your only options that didn’t intrude in Cloud’s personal boundaries. Yet, none of them worked. You were beginning to think those same boundaries were what kept you from succeeding.
So, you laid out your only remaining idea for the time being. Food.
No one can resist food, right? It always made you smile after coming back from a mission, bruised, bloodied, and exhausted. The same could be said for Cloud, couldn’t it?
With these thoughts swirling in your head, you sat waiting at a table for two. It was a neat bar, filled with a wide selection of drinks and meals people all around the slums raved about. If this didn’t make him smile, you weren’t sure what would.
Seeing his figure comb amongst the tables had you sighing in relief. You’d been afraid that you’d been stood up, even if this was just an outing between teammates. Once he sat down, you greeted him with the same warm smile you always gave.
He asked, blunt as ever, but you could tell a tint of curiosity was in his eyes. He was probably catching on, if not already.
> “Nothing really. Just heard talk of the place, and thought you might like it too.”
He shifted, sword by his leg as he did so. Cloud was always restless, you gathered way back, considering he could never really sit still. His shifting now, you thought, was normal for him.
You whipped out a menu and passed one along to him, you both quiet until a waiter came by for the order. Once they left, it was another long silence. A silence Cloud eventually found too uncomfortable to be in.
He was staring at you now, mako blues looking at you like they were trying to dissect you. He continued after he didn’t find anything.
> “Jokes. Gifts. Now this. Why?”
He sure didn’t mess around.
> “Well, why not? You’re my teammate, I don’t see the harm in trying to get familiar with you.”
> “That’s not it. You’re singling me out for some reason. Got a job you need handled?”
Slightly irked, you shook your head.
> “No, I’m not doing it for favors, I’m doing it because we’re teammates. It’s not that far-fetched, is it?”
Silent, he ruminated on your words before leaving it at that, noticing a waiter coming with your orders. The table after the food’s arrival was terribly awkward, but not once did either of you pick up the conversation from where you left it. You didn’t know why he dropped it, but you didn’t say anything because you couldn’t tell him. It would make it worse, you thought.
The night ended when the two of you walked back home, towards Stargazer Heights. You felt rather defeated, feeling like you walked home with even less progress than you started with, and Cloud couldn’t tell why.
It showed in the way he’d glance at you in that indirect, silent way, akin to how a frightened animal assesses your threat level only to be confused when it finds nothing. You hadn’t thought that your attempts to see him smile warranted suspicion. You could only hope it didn’t affect your synergy with him on missions.
Walking up the steps, you sighed as you prepared yourself to bid him goodnight. Only to trip, landing face first on the stairs.
With a newfound concern, Cloud rushed up the remaining steps to your side, assessing the damage. He watched as you groaned, the spots the stairs had met your face sure to bruise in the morning. He rooted in his pockets for his healing materia, only for a yellow one to meet his eyes instead.
> “Ambient materia, huh? I hope this makes him smile.”
You stiffened. That was your voice. You hadn’t expected the materia to have recorded you then. Now that it had and repeated it to him, avoiding eye contact was all you could do to keep the growing embarrassment from exploding.
> “….To make me smile? That was it?”
From your position, you could only hear his voice, but it genuinely sounded surprised. You heard the sounds of ruffling after, followed by a familiar warmth that surrounded your face and every other ache from the fall. Healing materia. Too afraid to look at him, you simply nodded slowly.
For what seemed like awhile, you two sat in silence, before eventually you heard a huff, followed by the feeling of his glove gently ruffling your hair.
He didn’t say anything as he got up, quick to leave the scene before you saw. But you were quick too, catching a glimpse of him before he turned away.
His cerulean eyes were soft as his lips lifted just slightly, like he hated it but he just couldn’t help himself. Closing the door behind him, he gave a small sigh.
He could hear you quietly celebrating your “first success” outside his door, despite it begrudgingly not being your first at all.
