"Cloud."
I watched with an uneasy feeling as a look of speculation entered Aeris's eyes.
"Why don't you dress up like a girl?"
"WHAT?!"
I blinked at the girl that I had met yesterday and tried to ignore the fact that I had just shrieked like a girl. Aeris could not have just suggested what I thought I heard her suggest.
Instead of confirming my hopes, Aeris crushed it to bits as she dashed over to the bouncer of Don Corneo's mansion.
"Just wait. There's a cute friend I want to bring."
"Aeris!" I hissed at her when she came back. "I can't -"
Aeris fixed me with a stern look. "You *are* worried about Tifa, aren't you?"
Dammit. Why was it that women always knew exactly what to say to make you feel the most amount of guilt? I glared at her. She ignored it. I tried snarling at her. Even without seeing it, I could tell it was a weak attempt. Her eyes started to twinkle. I opened my mouth to yell, but had to close it as nothing came out.
Aeris was right, dammit to all hells. The only way I was going to get into Don Corneo's was to dress as a girl.
As if that wasn't enough, the voice inside my head decided to join in the fun.
~It's not like you've never done it before.~
~WHAT?! When?~
~You know.~
I closed my eyes as a series of images flashed through my mind. Taking that as acquiescence, Aeris nodded and headed off.
I sighed and followed her through town, not really paying attention and only catching snippets of conversation. I was more focused on putting some order to the images I'd just seen.
The General's face lit up in one of his rare smiles. An achingly familiar face with the most beautiful silver eyes I'd ever seen. A bunch of people dressed in formal tuxes and gowns. Those silver eyes twinkling, while full, sensual lips curved upwards in laughter. Those same eyes darkening with arousal and desire.
"You know mister, he always said that just once, he'd like to dress up like a girl. So that's why I wanted a cute dress for him. . ."
I must've been giving Aeris a weird look, because she raised an eyebrow at me. It wasn't her explanation that I was having problems with. After all, I had agreed to this, sort of, so it didn't really matter what she said to make it happen. As long as it did happen. Though I had a feeling that sometime in the near future, when I was a little more aware of what was going on around me, I'd be mortified with the way she had been portraying me to the people of Wall Market.
Instead, I was stuck on her comment of 'just once'. If my piecemeal memory was in any way reliable, I'd already had that experience of 'just once'. And enjoyed it thoroughly. Though I couldn't really pull much else from the fragmented mess I was currently calling my mind. That was what had me giving scowls at odd moments.
If I'd enjoyed it as much as I thought I remembered, I should have more concrete memories of it, right? A moment later, the pure absurdness of my thoughts had me scowling again. *What* was I *thinking*? I had been wandering around town hardly aware of what was going on, and letting Aeris say whatever the hell popped into her mouth! To get me in a dress! Was I *insane*? Wait, I shouldn't ask that. I don't think I'd like the answer.
I glanced down at the soft and shimmery dress that Aeris had managed to get me into while my wits were wandering. Ancients, I wished remembering snippets of my past didn't turn me into such a bemused idiot. It might be rather amusing in this situation, but at the wrong time, it would get me killed.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The dress-maker had used some sort of silk material, with silver thread woven through it. The blue of the dress exactly matched the blue of my eyes, and the silver thread made it look like motes of light were caught dancing within the material.
At first glance, the dress looked conservative enough. It had a choker-type collar that kept the fitted, sleeveless thing from sliding off my body. The length was long enough that I'd have to wear heels to keep from tripping over the hem. Then I'd actually put the dress on and I realized the dress wasn't as conservative as I'd first thought.
The dress was slitted up the sides. Not just little slits, either. The slits reached almost to my hips! I could already see myself flashing the entire town as I stomped my way to Don Corneo's place. Not a pleasant prospect.
Then there was the back. What there was of it, that is. There was a. . . a . . . a *hole* in the back that started from the collar and ended barely above the cleft of my ass. I stared into the mirror. In fact, I could actually see the curve of spine where the back ends and the butt begins. I repressed a shudder.
Last, but not in any way the least, there was the body of the dress. True, it didn't show any cleavage, but that would've strained the genius of the dress-maker even beyond his considerable talents. It wasn't even too tight, just fitted perfectly. What it *did* have was lumps attached to the front that actually made it look like I had breasts. Two modest, real-looking, honest-to-gods breasts. It didn't help that I was naturally lithe and slender, so they didn't even look as absurd as they should have.
Looking up into the mirror again, I caught a glimpse of my eyes. They were staring out of my face, wide with confusion and glowing with Mako. Zack always said that the Mako treatments were going to make my eyes bluer than they were, and he was right. He'd also said that it was my eyes, more than anything, that gave my appearance a sense of fragility and vulnerability. Dammit, he was right. Again.
I blinked. Zack? Who the hell was Zack? A vision of laughing silver eyes came swimming from my mind, and for the first time in ages, for a moment, I felt content. Happy. I closed my eyes at the rush of loss and loneliness that came in its wake. After that brief sense of happiness, the loneliness and confusion that were my constant companions seemed even worse. Suddenly, it took all my self-control not to cry like a baby.
I heard a gasp behind me and opened my eyes, turning to face Aeris. I took a moment to try and sort out my feelings for the girl. She was pretty, with soft green eyes and a sweet, open face. From the moment I saw her, I'd felt as if I knew her from somewhere, and knew she should be protected. It was confusing as hell, but if she was connected in any way with my past, I wanted to know what it was. Needed to know. I couldn't go on living with just fragments of myself, I would go batty real soon if I didn't get some answers.
Aeris had a look of surprised admiration in her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. Raising an eyebrow, I turned for her inspection.
"Well?"
Aeris smiled, her eyes twinkling. "You look good, Cloud. Better than I expected." She cocked her head to the side in consideration. "Something's missing, though."
She raised a finger to tap at her chin and then snapped her fingers. "I know. You need a wig. Get out of that and get dressed. There's still more to do!"
As I was getting dressed in my regular, familiar clothes again, I heard Aeris ask the dress-maker where to get a wig. I walked out of the fitting room to glare at the dress-maker. 'Guys like me'? What the hell had Aeris been saying about me?
I followed Aeris around for the rest of the day. The sense of the surreal didn't fade as I did. I had to beat a guy at squats to get the wig. A long blonde wig that fell to the middle of my back. Then, Aeris got it in her head that I needed perfume, and that turned into a quest in and of itself. Going to the diner and having a bite to eat. Well, that wasn't too bad since I was rather hungry by then. Then telling the cook how it was 'alright' to get a coupon, so that the guy at the pharmacy would sit up and pay attention when we walked in, instead of ignoring us like he'd done earlier.
Finally, we ended up at the inn, getting a room for the night so that I could get the pharmacy guy something from the vending machine. What could it possibly sell that he was so damn curious? Oh well, might as well enjoy the rest while I could.
With a groan, I threw myself on one of the beds and closed my eyes. I could hear Aeris moving around and getting ready for bed herself. I heard the rustling of sheets as she lay down and I settled in to sleep.
"Cloud?"
"Yeah."
"You don't mind, do you?"
"Mind what?"
"Well. Today. All of it. It was kind of fun, wasn't it?"
I pried open an eye to find her staring at me from her bed, chewing on her lower lip and her eyes wide and filled with worry. I nodded and closed my eyes again. "Yeah. It was fun."
I felt, rather than saw, her mood brighten immediately. "Oh, good. There were a couple of times where I thought maybe I was taking it too far."
"'S'okay, Aeris. I don't mind."
"Okay. Good night, Cloud."
"Night Aeris."
I'd almost managed to doze off when I heard her again, "Cloud?"
"Hmm?"
"You really did look cute in that dress."
I groaned and tossed my pillow at her. "Good *night* Aeris."
She giggled sleepily, "Night, Cloud."
Finally, some peace and quiet. The day had been rather hectic, fighting our way to Wall Market , and running all over to get me to look like a girl. I was more than ready to get some rest.
Too bad the voice in my head decided to pipe up then.
~You did look cute.~
~Don't you start too.~
~Why? It's the truth. That dress is really similar to the one that you wore before.~
~Did I really dress up like a girl before?~
~Yes.~
~Why can't I remember?~
~Do you want to?~
~You can do that?~
~This time, yes. Well? Do you?~
~Yes.~
~Sleep.~
I slept. I dreamt.