Since I have no time to devote to Strifehart week 2025 (it’s busy season where I work.) I thought I’d write down some messy Strifehart headcanons as contribution:
Cloud makes fun of the fur lining on Squalls Jacket but they both know he likes rubbing his cheek on it when they hug.
Their washing machine does so many dark washes that the dial has seized in place. It literally will not move to a different setting.
Nobody ever believes Cloud that Squall eats some truly diabolical food combinations. Having grown up an orphan and boarding student, Squall has had to make do a lot when he missed allotted meal times. This sometimes means his idea of “a slap dash dinner” is two slices pickles on a strawberry pop tart. Cloud was horrified.
Squall didn’t learn about Clouds sternum scar until they started dating. It wasn’t even during an intimate moment. Cloud had just taken off his shirt so Ienzo could treat a cut on his side and Squall dropped his gummi phone whilst talking to Sora. Poor kid thought something awful had happened.
Likewise Cloud only found out what happened to Squalls shoulder a few months in. He knew there was a scar but Squall doesn’t really speak about the fact that he technically died.
Cloud also finds out that said scar gives Squall trouble when it’s winter. His shoulder aches and locks pretty consistently from November until mid March and that’s the reason Squall gets so grumpy. He doesn’t mind the cold, he just minds the pain.
They are, unsurprisingly, competitive and have been all the time they’ve known each other. People thought it would get better when they started dating. It didn’t. They just laugh more while they trip eachother up.
Squall knows that Clouds actual laugh is higher in his register and he hiccups when he gets giddy with it.
Cloud knows Squall actually laughs a lot he just doesn’t make a noise when he does he just shakes and occasionally -if he really has found something funny- he snorts like a buzz saw.
Their first kiss was a stupid game of chicken that they got way too invested in. Yuffie told Cloud she didn’t think he was man enough to take initiative and confess to squall. Then she did the same to Squall. They spent the next week flirting with each other rather aggressively (as in they gave each other weirdly passive aggressive sounding compliments and got into eachother’s space like they were squaring up for a fight.) until Cloud finally broke and kissed Squall.
They are very private about their relationship as a whole but Sora says they are also weirdly -but not ironically- the healthiest couple he knows.
And they are pretty healthy. They weren’t always. They went through a period of Cloud leaving and Squall pining like a depressed cat but after Cid hit Cloud upside the head and Aerith pointed out to squall that his usual MO of not communicating was going to loose him the one person he’d finally fallen in love with after Rinoa. They seemed to get their shit sorted pretty quickly after that.
This post from @letoasai about this year's Strifehart week reminded me that I did brainstorm some ideas last year based on that year's prompts! ... Which I just didn't have the time or brainspace to do much about back then, or since. 😅
But I cleaned up a couple and detailed the outlines a bit, so that they're now closer to a not-fic than a short list of bullet points. This is the first one, the second one is here.
The first one is inspired by the day 1 prompt, "Wrong reality", which I interpreted very loosely as a clash of worlds. Very much pre-slash, could probably qualify as a meet-ugly.
Post time compression/Meteorfall, the FF7 and FF8 worlds end up joined together, FF5 style.
Squall plus two teammates (Quistis? Zell?) are deposited quite far from home due to time/space shenanigans, and are soon happened upon by Cloud and the gang, who are all out searching for clues to what happened to their world.
Both groups are wary of the other: these are groups of combatants they have never seen before, looking ready to fight.
Reacting to one another's hostility (and a badly timed comment from Zell), the groups end up fighting.
It doesn't take too long for one of the FF7 gang to pull out a limit break, and it hits hard – harder than it should have. Squall does a quick mental count, and realizes that while his GF's are all accounted for, his magic has been severely depleted (due to the fight with Ultimecia or the following time compression, he doesn't know).
So of course he does the natural thing: he draws magic from his enemies. Unsurprisingly, they've got some good spells on them, and Squall starts drawing it to himself in between clashes.
At one point, he draws some cure magic from Cloud, and casts it on Quistis, the main recipient from that last major attack.
Cloud stops, confused. What just happened? Did... Did that guy just. Steal magic from him, somehow? He doesn't feel drained, or tired, or like he can't cast himself, but there's a niggling feeling of violation, somehow – how was he able to take his magic like that?? So rude?!
Meanwhile, Squall is building up a power boost from extracting and junctioning some powerful magic to himself. Healing magic for his endurance, some meteor-like spell for a boost to his magic, and Ultima to strengthen his attacks.
It takes some time, especially since he has to stop to heal so often from the frequent power moves these people seem to be able to access despite looking far from death's door. It gets easier the more magic he draws, though, and he can tell it's the same for his teammates.
It takes a while before Cloud picks up on it, but when he does, it's obvious: this guy is very noticeably gaining strength as he goes on stealing Cloud's magic, and Cloud doesn't like that at all.
He needs to end this, fast, so he tanks a few hits in order to unleash a Climhazzard, hopefully taking the guy out in one go. And if not, he knows he can probably tank one of whatever power move the guy can dish out after
And dish out he does; despite looking like he's on his last legs, his stormy grey eyes are filled with determination as he unleashes a devastating rush of attacks upon him with that strange blade of his, finishing with an energy blast that Cloud barely dodges, and that carves a long line of destruction im the ground across the entire battlefield.
Cloud sighs in relief, preparing to knock the guy out now that he's expended his power, but to his surprise he spots the guy preparing the same move again, which shouldn't be possible.
His surprise costs him a few hits, but it's enough for him to gather himself for a counter attack: if Climhazzard wasn't enough he'll have to pull out his strongest attack.
He's not the only one changing tactics though – there is no giant beam of light following the punishing rush of strikes this time. Instead Cloud finds himself locked in a duel with an opponent that matches his Omnistrike blow for blow, strike for strike
At the end of the sequence, they pull apart, both retreating to a safer distance to breathe. Cloud meets his opponents calculating eyes, and starts planning his next move. What will the guy do? Stop to heal? Throw out some magic while at distance? Pull out yet another finishing move, seeing as he has apparently no issue doing several in a row?
He doesn't get far in his planning; a shout of "Commander!" stops the other man in his tracks where he'd begun his approach towards Cloud again. A shout of his own name soon follows – it's Tifa, and she sounds a little exasperated, as if it's not the first time she's tried to get his attention.
Turns out that while he was fighting this commander, she'd been trading blows with the rival group's resident martial artist; a talkative fellow she managed to speak to long enough between bouts to trade explanations and negotiate a truce.
She'd quickly relied it to the rest of the group, narrowly saving Barret from getting torched by another round of fire spat out by the whip lady, but Cloud and their commander were both so immersed in their duel that no one could get to them.
Seeing as they all carried several tufts of Phoenix Down, the rest of them decided to let the pair of them finish up, or at least see if there would be a lull in the fighting for long enough to reach them before anyone was knocked out.
Cloud feels kinda miffed that they were prepared to let him or the other guy – of course, most likely the other guy, there's no way Cloud couldn't take him on no matter how long the battle dragged out – get knocked out for convenience instead of interfering, but right now he's more interested in whatever potions Tifa may have on her, seeing as his magic reserves are quite depleted after the intense fighting
Before she can answer him, though, he hears someone beside him telling him "No need, I've got this", before the familiar wash of healing magic soothes away his scrapes and exhaustion.
Blinking his eyes up at the guy he'd just been fighting – whom it turns out is quite a lot taller than him, which is slightly annoying – Cloud realized the guy has once again somehow pulled out a healing spell from Cloud himself, before casting it back on him, something that feels both impossible, and still somehow rude.
He doesn't let it get to him though, just nods his thanks before stepping back to let Tifa and Barret handle the upcoming talks and explanations.
He can't help but notice those grey eyes – no longer stormy, but determined still – follow him even as the man discusses their situation with the other two.
Cloud can't find it in himself to look away, either.
