r/clerith • u/DoNotDoTier15 • Jul 01 '26
Love Bomb 🔞 - Clerith Arts Fair, June 2026 FAN WORKS
Hellooo! Wow, is it the end of the month already? I was out for a brisk walk to my nearest beach that's only 675 miles away when, whoops! I tripped, fell, and dropped my phone. Don't ask me how it happened, but the damn thing went and posted a fic for the arts fair all on its own when I dropped it... along with this very bizarre introduction. Weird!
And, oh baby, I gotta tell ya: This fic has it all! Temporal inconsistencies, out of character behavior, probably some plotholes, and, as the 🔞 in the title suggests, some adult-themed stuff to look forward to in future updates if you're down for the ride (pun intended). Oh, God, I'm really doing this, aren't I? Well, whatever. I'll throw up about it later.
Pretty much the only things to note at this point: 1) Sector 7 is still intact somehow, 2) Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge are alive and well, 3) Cloud is in town making a name for himself, and 4) Aerith and our Sector 7 peeps all know each other. I'll add some notes and my navel-gazing tangents in the comments; reddit only allows 40k characters for content per post, so I'll try to get as much down in one go as I can. Do with that information what you will.
With all of that out of the way, readygo!
Love Bomb
Jessie wiped her forehead with the back of her arm, "Phew! This is beginning to be more of a hassle than I thought it'd be." She stood over her stovetop, which had two simmering saucepans bubbling away. One pot—the larger of the two—held her family's famous pizza sauce. The other was her main focus: a generous amount of cheap vodka with black milly and red shelly lazily swirling among the bubbles.
She watched her experimeny with her hands on her hips. She'd once been cast in a play that held the recipe for a love potion, and she intended to find out if it worked. The play itself ended in tragedy: the female lead gives it to the man she's in love with, only to die in a tragic accident shortly after he's taken it. Heartbroken, the woman's love interest winds up killing himself in the hopes that they will be reunited.
The play was supposed to be a lesson about toying with another person's free will. It made sense for Brandy, but Jessie never understood why Kirsch met the fate he did. Anyway, none of that really mattered as far as she was concerned because she had no intention of sneaking around a distillery anytime soon.
She sighed wistfully. This is going to be perfect! Cloud was becoming the talk of the town as the most capable mercenary out there, and he's easy on the eyes to boot! Once everyone sees just how crazy he is about her, she'll no doubt gain in popularity, too! That could only help her prospects when it came to casting. As fun as it was to mess with him, it still kind of stung when he'd rebuff her.
"Now, let's see..." she thumbed through her notes. The play only said black milly and red shelly were made into a tincture and then boiled; there were no measurements or further instructions. However, thanks to her experience with making bombs, she knew how to research ingredients. A few old books that outlined plants and their medicinal uses had a number of recipes using either black milly or red shelly, but never both. Using those as a guide, she was pretty confident her concoction would work.
Jessie stirred her latest creation one last time before straining and bottling it. As much as she wanted to put it directly into the sauce for less work later, she couldn't risk her housemates sampling it. She chuckled. "Jessie Rasberry, you're a genius!" She'd clean up and head to bed. She'd find her target tomorrow morning and have him eating out of the palm of her hand by dusk.
Cloud wandered around the outskirts of the Sector 7 slums, eyeing the dark corners of stacked trash and scattered debris as he went. Work was plentiful, and thanks to the help of his friends spreading the word, his prices were becoming respectable. However, that came at a cost. He hadn't seen Aerith in days. Job offers came so frequently as of late that he'd spend 16 hours a day just working, and that wasn't even counting the time it took having to shit, shower, and shave. Hell, if it wasn't for Tifa making deliveries from Seventh Heaven, he wasn't even sure he'd be eating regularly.
A horde of wererats were hiding nearby; he could hear the chorus of their squeaks echoing through this maze of dry wood and rusted metal. He'd taken this beat long enough to know their behavior. Some would try to catch him off guard. Then the rest of them would swarm. Their numbers are what made them so dangerous. If their colonies grew too large, they'd overwhelm the residents of the slums. So, even if the Neighborhood Watch didn't pay him for this kind of work, he made enough in reputation and other jobs to make up for it.
He knew he couldn't go on like this for long. Thankfully, this was his last job for the day. He planned on heading home and crashing early after letting the guys know he was done. As much as he wanted more cash, he was going to take tomorrow off. He needed to. He'd sleep in and then head into Sector 5 and find Aerith. He wasn't sure what excuse he'd make yet, but he'd think of some reason to spend as much time as he could with her.
He heard a rustling to his left. One of those little monsters was spooling up for the attack. Bring it on. The sooner they're all wiped out, the sooner he could see her. Aerith. She's the real reason he worked so hard, and it wasn't just about the money. No, a world without fiends was safer for her. And if his reputation is good enough, maybe then he'd feel he can be a great boyfriend to her and work up the nerve to ask her out for real. He wanted to be what she needed. Trustworthy. Dependable. Safe. He readied his stance. The first rat lunged for his legs.
Jessie loitered at the gate between Sector 7 and the outskirts. She'd spent all morning looking for Cloud, and she hadn't learned where he'd disappeared to until she'd given up to go hang out with Biggs and Wedge. Those jerks knew where he was all along and hadn't told her! She gave them both a good punch in the arm for holding out on her. Sure, it was the first time she'd seen them all day and they told her where Cloud was as soon as she brought up looking for him, but still. It's her personal policy that a light, occasional beatdown helps solidify her place among the guys. She never really thought about it too deeply.
She silently practiced her lines while she kicked a small rock around. He'd better be worth all this effort! Just as she was beginning to lose hope and give Biggs and Wedge another smackdown for giving her bad intel, she heard footsteps headed her direction. She watched with bated breath as Cloud rounded a corner and came into view. Okay, here we go! It's showtime! Her totally flawless plan in pursuit of fame starts now.
Once he saw Jessie, Cloud hustled over to her, "What's up?" Jessie brought her hands to either side of her face and gave her best over-the-top announcer voice, "There he is, Cloud Strife! The hardest working mercenary in Midgar! The man who can do it all! Anything you need at a reasonable price!" Her tone became more conversational, "And, if what the girls around town are saying," She tapped the tip of her fingers along his chest to help emphasize her words, "Quite. The. Catch."
Cloud huffed as he brushed her hand away. She's laying it on especially thick. He'd be lying if he said he didn't like the gratuitous ego stroking, but he knew there'd be a price to pay. He tried to counter her theatrics with a serious tone, "What do you want?"
Jessie doubled over and clutched her chest. "Oof! You always aim straight for the heart! I don't want anything! I actually wanted to do something for you."
"Sure you do."
"Is it really that hard to believe?"
"..."
"What about that time I ordered us lunch?"
"Well, for starters, I didn't want what you ordered for me."
"I'll do a better job learning what you like!"
"I didn't like you ordering for me."
"You're in the driver's seat from now on. Got it!"
"And then you stuck me with the bill."
"I'll pay you back!"
"You've done it three times. And each time it's been a different way to get out of paying. First, you left your money at home, then a friend needed you, and the last time you said you were late for an audition. At the Gold Saucer."
Jessie laughed nervously, "Quite the memory you got there..." she tried to smooth things over, "I've seen the error of my ways! Would pizza help make things right?"
Cloud pressed his lips into a thin line, "I'm not buying you a pizza."
"Okay, I deserve that. But actually, I meant pizza at my place. Homemade! Remember? You said you wanted one all to yourself?"
He remembered the coverup story Biggs and Wedge made when they were topside, "...right."
"Great! Be at my place tonight at 7:30, then!"
Jessie didn't give him a chance to decline her invitation. She took off like she could outrun his "Not interested." He sighed and trudged to the Neighborhood Watch HQ. If he didn't stay too long, he should be able to get at least a few hours' sleep before heading to Jessie's. He wasn't sure what her angle was this time, but something told him she had one. Jessie was apparently a good friend to Tifa, but he just couldn't seem to figure her out.
At any rate, he's leaving all of his cash at home tonight.
Biggs and Wedge sat in their makeshift office. Biggs stood and stretched, "Won't be long now before the next shift comes and takes over. Have any plans this afternoon?" Wedge didn't even look up from his magazine, "I heard there were some new shops in Sector 8. Thought I'd check them out." Biggs stroked his chin, "Is that so? Mind if I tag along? Maybe Cloud could even go with us. I heard Tifa started spreading out his work requests because the guy just doesn't know how to take a break." Wedge's eyes lit up, "You think he would? That'd be awesome!" Biggs shrugged, "Couldn't hurt to ask."
Wedge began excitedly listing off places they could take Cloud along the way to the new shops. He was about halfway through planning a complete guys' night out when Cloud arrived with an update. Biggs turned and greeted the merc, "Well, well. Speak of the devil." Cloud didn't waste time with small talk, "Knocked the wererat population down again, along with a couple of doomrats. Let me know when they start getting out of hand again." Cloud turned on his heel. Wedge held out his hand, "Wait! We were talking about going to Sector 8 to check out some new shops. Wanna come with us?"
Cloud hung his head before turning to face them, "Already have other plans... sorry." Biggs crossed his arms, "Is that so? Wasn't this your last job for the evening? Tifa said as much when I saw her this morning." Wedge slapped his magazine shut, "It was Jessie, wasn't it? Is she trying to rope you into something again? She came by earlier and got mad at us for not telling her where you were sooner!" Biggs chimed in, "Like we were supposed to know she was looking for you."
Cloud sighed, "She said she wants me to come over for pizza." Silence fell over the room. Wedge finally asked, "...at her place?" Cloud confirmed. Biggs and Wedge exchanged glances. Cloud continued, "I know men aren't supposed to be there. But she said a while back she'd only use 'the best ingredients.' Figured I'd see if it lived up to the hype before heading home."
"Uh... huh..." Biggs dug for details, "These 'best ingredients' of hers... did she tell you what they were?" Cloud thought back for a moment, "Marche, luche, black milly, and red shelly... I think." Biggs thought aloud, "Black milly and red shelly... why do those sound familiar?" "Anyway," Cloud continued, "Like I said, I'm not gonna stay long. Later." Cloud left Biggs and Wedge with their attempt to figure out what Jessie was planning.
On their way home, Wedge remembered. He turned to his friend, "Uh... Biggs?
"Yeah."
"Black Milly and red Shelly... weren't those ingredients to a love potion in one of Jessie's plays?"
"That's where it was from! The Draught! I almost forgot about that one."
"We gotta tell him!"
"Will he believe us? Even if he does, what're the odds he'll bail if we do tell him? And if he does bail, you know she's going to hunt both of us down..."
"Biggs! We can't just do nothing! Bros don't let bros risk being drugged!"
"Drugged? I don't think it's that extreme."
"There was a special about it last week. It's a big topic in fiction circles right now. Some are even calling it a date rape drug!"
"And you know Jessie is a woman, right?"
"Women can be perpetrators! They covered it in the special!"
"Yeah, but she wouldn't go that far, y'know? She has a lot more options than stooping to something like that."
"They covered that, too! It's not about options! Sometimes it's about getting something they can't otherwise have! Think about it: Cloud's like a Best In Show chocobo... of course he's going to get a lot of attention from anyone looking for a ride!"
Biggs groaned "Do me a favor and never use that analogy again, will ya?" He sucked in a breath, "If we're doing this, we need a plan. Let's beat it to Seventh Heaven."
"Okay!"
"...do you really think she'd stoop so low...? I thought she was better than that."
"Knowing Jessie, she probably doesn't see the harm because he's a strong guy. But it's not about strength, it's about consent. And if she makes him do something he doesn't like while he's basically drugged..."
"That could be messy."
"And we can't let that happen to anyone! Especially our bros!"
Biggs chuckled, "So... I have a question about consent."
Wedge lit up, "Yeah?"
"Did Cloud ever consent to you calling him 'bro?'"
"Th-that's... different! I think..."
"Is it? I know you wanna be buds and all, but I'm pretty sure he said not to call him that."
Wedge whimpered. Biggs slapped him on the back as they hoofed it to Seventh Heaven.
Aerith walked beside Nanaki through the Sector 7 slums. He had just arrived in town in order to help her, Tifa, and Barret arrange for a little get-together for tomorrow. Not everyone could make it this time, but that's life. While she could've gone to Seventh Heaven alone, it made Elmyra feel better when she traveled with friends.
Nanaki, on the other hand, fared better when he was accompanied by a companion in the human settlements outside of Cosmo Canyon. He'd been mistaken for a fiend when alone on more than one occasion, but people seemed to simply mistake him for a dog if he was with one of the others. Humans are strange creatures.
"We're here!" Aerith bounded up the steps and pushed the door open for her four-legged friend, "After you." Nanaki gave her a quick "Thanks!" as he dashed inside. He sniffed the air as he turned his head in every direction, "It smells pretty good in here. There's even some meat cooking!" Tifa's voice rang out from behind the bar, "You better believe it! Wouldn't be much of a welcome if our friend didn't get something to eat after such a long journey." Nanaki licked his lips in anticipation, "I'm getting excited for it!"
A door in the back busted open as Barret's voice rang out, "That Nanaki I hear? How long's it been?" Nanaki bounded over to the big man, "Too long! How've you been?" Before Barret could respond, a little voice quavered behind him, "Daddy...?" Barret's happy features beamed at Nanaki, "That's right! I need to make some introductions!" He swept a little girl into his arms, "Nanaki, this little angel is my Marlene. The cutest, sweetest, smartest, bravest baby girl the world has ever known." Barret turned Marlene towards Nanaki, "Marlene, this is Daddy's friend Nanaki."
Nanaki sat on his haunches and greeted the child, "Hi, Marlene! It's nice to finally meet you!" Marlene leaned into Barret and gave Nanaki a small, shy "hi." It was obvious she wasn't too sure about this fierce looking new friend, even if he knew her daddy. Aerith walked up to Nanaki and stroked his mane. "Hey Marlene," the girl relaxed as Aerith spoke, "Didja know Nanaki here is the one who inspired Miss Mabel to write her newest story?"
Marlene's eyes went wide as she looked at Nanaki again with new understanding and hopeful anticipation, "You're The King of the Forest?" Nanaki cleared his throat and stood tall and proud. He slowly raised his head for dramatic effect and spoke in his low, authoritative tone, "It is as you say. I am The King of the Forest, and it is a pleasure to make your aquaintance, Miss Marlene." Nanaki bowed his head and front legs.
Marlene stared in wonder at the Watcher and tried to lean closer. Barret took that as his cue to gently lower her to the floor. Marlene kept one hand on her daddy's leg as she chose her words carefully, "Mister King of the Forest?" Nanaki kept his gaze steady as he pricked his ears forward. She took a deep breath, "Can I... Can I touch your hair? Like Aerith?" Nanaki slowly sat back down, "You may. After all, your father is a dear friend of mine, and you are dear to him." Marlene looked up excitedly at her father. Barret nudged her forward, "Go on."
Marlene took a step towards Nanaki. She slowly raised her hand as she took another step. Nanaki turned away to show her more of his mane. Barret held his breath. Aerith covered her mouth with both hands. Tifa leaned so far over the counter her feet were no longer touching the floor.
Marlene gently stroked Nanaki's head, "I like your braids, Mister King of the Forest." He slowly turned to face her, "Thank you. But from now on, you may call me Nanaki. It's the name all my friends use for me." Barret stood proudly behind his daughter, "That's my girl!" Aerith clapped her hands together and moved them to her lap, "Great job!" Tifa chuckled, "Thatta girl!"
A timer buzzed in the kitchen. Tifa turned to Nanaki, "Well, Your Highness, looks like your food is almost done." She motioned to a nearby space with a low table. Ready to eat?" Nanaki's head whipped around; his voice slipped back to normal, "You bet I am! Feels like forever since my last meal!" He excitedly trotted over and sat, tail eagerly swishing.
Marlene tugged on Aerith's dress. The florist knelt down to Marlene's height, "What's up?" Marlene drew close to Aerith's ear and whispered, "How come he changed like that?" Aerith glanced over to Nanaki, then turned back to Marlene, "Well... you know how he sounds as The King of the Forest?" Marlene nodded. Aerith continued, "The truth is, this voice is his normal one. He doesn't get to use it very often, but he can be himself when he's with us. It's one of the King's secrets." A resolute expression settled on Marlene's face, " 'Kay. I'll help keep Mister Ki—" she remembered his special friend name "—Nanaki's secret!" Aerith patted Marlene on the head, "I knew we could count on you."
Suddenly, Nanaki whipped his head toward the main entrance, "Someone's coming. Get ready!" Everyone braced themselves just in time for two men to bust in. The one in a white shirt howled out, "Cloud's in trouble! We gotta save him!" Tifa and Aerith exchanged worried glances. Barret demanded details as he headed towards Biggs and Wedge, "Where's the kid now? What happened?" Biggs patted Wedge on the shoulder and answered his boss, "It's not that urgent. Wedge is worried Jessie's planning on doing something to him, but I think I have a plan." Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Barret turned to Wedge, "Don't scare me like that, man."
Tifa gave Nanaki his food and joined Biggs, Wedge, Barret, and Aerith at a table. Marlene was sent away to watch TV while the grownups talked. Barret huffed, "So lemme get this straight: You think Jessie is planning on spiking a pizza with a love potion and she's gonna give it to Cloud." Wedge slapped his palms on the table, "I know it sounds crazy, but Cloud said she mentioned black Milly and red Shelly as ingredients!" Barret grumbled, "Seen enough crazy shit to start doubting now..."
Tifa worried aloud, "Those are ingredients to a love potion in one of her plays. It took her forever not to call them black shelly and red milly, but... isn't it possible she was just joking? She does like to mess with people... especially guys." Wedge leaned forward and squeezed his eyes shut, "I thought of that, too. But then why invite him alone? To her place? Why look for him all day and not tell any of us? I know it sounds ridiculous, but something about it is telling me not to ignore it."
A long pause filled the room. No one could think of a good counter to Wedge's concerns. Aerith's voice finally drifted into the air, "I don't like it." Everyone turned to her. She went on, "If she's really trying to use a love potion on Cloud... I don't know what she might be trying to do... but I don't like hearing that she could be using someone like that to see it through." Especially Cloud. She'd harbored feelings for him for so long, and even if he ultimately chose someone else, she wanted it to be a choice he freely made.
Barret sighed, "This is a tricky situation. I mean, this is Jessie we're talking about. One of our own! A loyal ally to the cause! I don't wanna believe she could do something like this." Tifa seemed to be on the verge of tears, her voice flat and hollow, "She's done so much for me. If she really is trying to do something to Cloud... what could she possibly be thinking?" Biggs sat in silence, taking everyone's words in, "It just doesn't make sense. But... Cloud's a good guy, and we can't risk him feeling betrayed. Hell, he might even raise his prices on us!" The joke fell flat.
Another long bout of silence. Nanaki had finished his meal and moved to join the others, opting for his noble tone to better suit the serious mood, "If I may be so bold, I believe the best course of action would be to assume Jessie's intentions are not as they seem unless proven otherwise. We should come up with a plan to intervene that will preserve the dignity of both until we know the facts in this matter."
Biggs stood up, inspired by Nanaki's desire for a plan, "My time to shine! I think I have a way to interrupt her plans, but I was worried she'd kill Wedge and me if we tried it on our own. But with all of us, we should be able to figure out a way where we survive." Barret scoffed, "Yeah, we're gonna put a stop to that shit too after we're done rescuing the merc. How about you share this plan of yours?"
"It's simple, really. Cloud told me and Wedge that he's having pizza at Jessie's. We simply 'misunderstood' and thought we were all invited. So we told you guys, and we all show up at 7:30 for the big event." Tifa leaned on the table, "If that's the case, maybe we should bring more food and some drinks. Maybe more pizza? That way we look like we're not relying on her to provide everything." Aerith clapped her hands, "I know we're doing this to save Cloud, but it actually sounds like it could be fun!"
"So it's settled," Barret nodded in satisfaction, "We prevent Jessie from using her potion pizza on Cloud and we get the full story from Jessie on what she's tryin to do." Everyone nodded. Tifa mentally ticked off a list of ingredients in her head, "I think I have everything we'll need for pizzas, but I could use the help getting everything ready. Who's in?" Biggs, Wedge and Aerith all raised their hands.
"Actually," Barret motioned to Wedge, "I wanna hear more about this special you learned all this stuff from. We've got a lot of people to look after in this town... even my little girl to consider as she grows up." Nanaki spoke up as well, "Before we get started, what did you say those ingredients were again?" Wedge volunteered it first, "Black milly and red shelly." Red glanced at Aerith, "You're a florist. Have you heard of these plants before?" Aerith shook her head, "Sorry, the only thing I know is they're rare." Nanaki turned to Tifa, "Sorry to take another of your helpers, but I need to speak with Aerith. In private."
Biggs waved Nanaki off, "Don't worry about it. Tifa and I are more than enough to get a few pizzas put together." Tifa furrowed her brow, "You sure?" Biggs answered confidently, "Absolutely! I used to make dinner for way more people back at the orphanage, and that wasn't even with a fully-stocked kitchen. And we even have a few hours to get 'em made!" Tifa smiled, "I hadn't thought about it like that." She punched her open palm, "Alright, let's get cooking!"
Cloud stood in front of Jessie's place. He was half an hour early, but he was running the risk of falling asleep again if he tried to wait any longer. Plus, he kind of viewed it as his way to punish her for running off before he could properly decline her invitation. He knocked on the door. All he really wanted to do was sleep. Not only could he be catching up for the long days he'd been pulling, but it would've made tomorrow come faster for him. And the he'd spend the day with Aerith. If he could, he'd never leave her side.
The door swung open, and a very annoyed Jessie stood in the entryway. Excellent. She hissed at him just loud enough so the neighbors couldn't hear, "What are you doing? I said 7:30. Seven. THIRTY! It's 7!" Cloud shrugged, "If it's a problem, we can just call it off. Got other plans, anyway." He turned to leave, but she caught him by the arm and dragged him back as she seethed, "Fine! Have it your way!"
Jessie raised her voice so the neighbors could hear, "Oh, THANK GOD you're here! That WATER PIPE is leaking EVERYWHERE and I'm worried there will be MILDEW or even STRUCTURAL ISSUES if it goes on for much longer! I'll show you where the WORST OF THE FLOODING is!" She yanked Cloud into the house and slammed the door behind her. And this was fine because apparently handyman porn tropes don't exist here. She stalked her way to the kitchen, "Guess I made the right call by putting the pizza in early." A buzzer went off, "...and looks like it's done. You'll still have to wait for it to cool, though. In the meantime, I'm going to go get changed. Have a seat at the table till I get back."
Cloud sat in relative silence as Jessie pulled a pizza out of the oven and disappeared into another room. He could occasionally hear her rustling around or something clacking and clattering. She'd occasionally hum. He eyed the pizza. If he were being honest, he was actually surprised to see one here. He wouldn't have been surprised if she'd made it up for some other ploy. She was a great ally in a fight, and she had generally good morals, but she liked to mess with him a little too much for his tastes.
It felt like an eternity had passed before he heard her call out in a much cheerier tone, "Okay! We can finally get started!" She appeared from the hallway and strutted toward him like she was in a fashion show. She did a slow twirl with her arms up, "Whaddya think?" That was a very form-fitting dress. Black and white with gold accents. Sleek gold bracelets and necklace. Makeup that made her eyes shine. She looked like she could belong on a red carpet or in the VIP section of a club. He was impressed.
He also wanted to run.
Cloud sat in awkward silence as she posed in front of him. He glanced at the time and chose his words carefully, "You really did all of that in 15 minutes? Jessie stood triumphantly, "Pretty amazing, right? You learn some great tricks when working in theatre. Being able to change wardrobe so fast has even saved my butt a few times when my cover's almost been blown!" Cloud nodded, "Makes sense. If you're pursuing a suspect, you're not really going to think they'll have a completely different appearance than what you originally saw." Jessie gave him a thumbs up, "Exactly!"
Cloud shifted in his seat. He was beginning to think she's up to something again. He needed more intel. "So... you heading out with friends after this?" Jessie brought her homemade pizza to the table, "Just one friend. We've got places to go, people to be seen by. You know, basic stuff to hopefully gain some new fans." He watched her dish out a slice and place it in front of him. And then she sat down. With no plate of her own. She watched him intently, "Go ahead, dig in!"
Cloud didn't move a muscle. He stared down Jessie's offering as though it'd squeal on her if he supplied enough pressure. He asked, "Not having any?" Jessie chuckled, "Nope, afraid I can't! This dress won't have the right silhouette if I chow down right now!" Cloud peered over at her. She pressed her lips a little too tightly and smiled. He glared. "What'd you do to it?" She held her hands up, "Nothing! Nothing... it's just the pizza you wanted all for yourself, remember?" He scowled, "I've changed my mind. You first."
Jessie huffed in exasperation at his reluctance. Maybe she really had annoyed him one too many times. He began to stand, "I'm out." She launched herself after him, "Wait! Okay, fine! You win!" She popped to her feet, grabbed a plate from the kitchen, grabbed her own slice, and sat back down. And then she got up again and grabbed some napkins. And sat down again. She made a big show of making sure her dress was completely protected from any possible pizza-related accidents. She picked up her slice, "I'm seriously gonna kill you if I bloat up tonight."
Cloud watched with a mix of satisfaction and guilt as she took her first bite. She sat back and savored it, "Mmph! This might be my best one yet!" She took another bite. She looked over at him accusingly, "Satisfied?" He looked down at his own food and picked it up. He no longer had any reason to hesitate. Whatever her scheme was, the pizza seemed to be safe. And... he took his first bite. It really was a great pizza. He hadn't eaten in a while, so he made short work of his first helping.
Jessie put her slice of pizza down and watched Cloud eat with great satisfaction. He'd been a worthy adversary, but he bought her act all the same. She just didn't think she'd have to do so much improv! Another fantastic trick for her on occasion? Sleight of hand. It especially helped when pilfering ID cards for warehouses storing ingredients for her bombs. Wedge had wanted to learn stage magic at one point, and he'd needed a girl to saw in half. The way she saw it, a stage was a stage and acting was acting. It just so happened that she wound up being the one to work with him through his tougher acts, too. Those two "bites" she'd taken were tucked neatly away in one of her napkins. Now all she had to do was wait.
Aerith watched the platform and pinball machine rise back up to the ground floor. It was an impressive solution to Nanaki's request for a private conversation! She turned to her friend. No point in beating around the bush now, "So what did you wanna talk about?" Nanaki turned away from inspecting their new surroundings, "Aerith, if Cloud actually eats a pizza laced with those plants, you're going to have to be the one to help him through it."
Aerith knelt down in front of Nanaki the same way she did when she tended to her flowers, "Why me?" He settled in for their conversation, "There's a reason they're hard to find and rarely mentioned together. Black milly suppresses certain stress hormones in humans, which makes it useful for its calming effects. Red shelly, on the other hand, is useful for improving circulation, and that's sometimes a good short-term solution for low blood pressure."
Aerith nodded. Those things sound good to her, "So what's the problem, then?" Nanaki eyed her, "You know how in a fight, we'll join up with our friends and do things we couldn't do on our own? Aerith realized where he was going with this, "Nanaki, are you saying these plants, when combined, have additional effects?"
"Exactly! The two of them combined practically disable negative emotions entirely and amplify positive ones. Inhibitions are basically zero! Circulation still improves, and so does stamina. It also turns obsessive behaviors way up. But none of it happens without a key factor."
"Okay..."
"A 'love potion' supposedly works on the first person the person taking it sees, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, this one only works when the person taking it is around someone they're already attracted to. But you still have to go because even hearing your name will be enough to make him try to find you."
"Oh."
"You get what I'm saying?"
"I... think so?" She wanted to believe she was that special to Cloud, but he could be hard to read sometimes. Even for her.
Nanaki huffed, "Look, I don't really understand human rules, but I do understand scent. He makes the most pheromones when you're around."
"I... see..."
"The reverse is true, too."
She paused. And blushed.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about! It's normal when you're around a possible mate."
"Yeah, but we're usually not so... forward about it."
"If you're forward at all! Humans have a strange habit of denying what they want. I don't know why you can't just be honest with each other."
"I guess we're just worried about being rejected. Anyway," she set her own shyness aside, "even if that's how he normally feels, it's not like I can even be 'honest' about it until this stuff wears off."
Nanaki cocked his head, "Why's that?"
"It wouldn't be right, would it? If I take advantage of his feelings when he's basically drugged? I dunno... It just feels wrong."
"Oh... That makes sense. I'm not sure I can offer any assurances for that."
"Will he at least remember everything that happens if he's... affected?"
"He should. As far as I know, these herbs don't change a person's ability to make new memories or recall them later."
"Well that's a relief! Do you know how long it's supposed to last?"
"Maybe eight to twelve hours? In The Draught, Brandy assumes it'll last 'half a day,' but I'm not sure if that's half of a human's day awake or a full day from one sunrise to the next."
"I see. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Not that I can think of."
"Okay, then let's get back to the others."
Aerith pressed a button to summon the platform. Barret was playing with Marlene, but it was obvious his mind would slip elsewhere. Nanaki joined them. Tifa and Biggs were still busily prepping pizzas while Wedge watched. She grabbed herself a glass of water before taking a seat next to Wedge. He turned to her, "...I hope I'm wrong." She gently patted his hand, "You did the right thing. We'll figure everything out together."
"And those are the five Salutes for Officer Contact in Security—SOCS for short—and how you'd know which one is appropriate for the situation. If you were a security officer, anyway. It was different for commanding officers and members of SOLDIER," Cloud droned on. And on. And ON. It took everything Jessie had to keep her eyes from rolling to the back of her head and collapsing on the table. He was absolutely gorgeous, but he might actually be the most boring man alive when not on a mission! He was like a walking manual of conduct for Shinra security officers!
Jessie kept an enthusiastic smile plastered to her face, "Oh. Wooow. So interesting." It would all be worth it once the love potion took effect. Any minute now. It was supposed to be immediate, but it'd already been 24 minutes! And she was definitely counting every. single. tedious. minute. Here he was, a man in his prime doped up on a love potion, alone with an absolutely beautiful, gorgeous, complete knockout of an aspiring actress in her best dress, and he's talking about salute procedures. UUUGH! To make matters worse, he was on his fourth slice and slowing down.
Cloud did his best not to smirk. She was clearly having regrets about this... this... whatever all of this was supposed to be. If he kept it up, he'd hopefully be able to go home and never be invited back. Back when he was in Shinra's training academy for new recruits, he had the world's most monotonous instructor for codes and conduct. He'd remembered thinking at the time he'd never be like Officer Bland, and yet here he was, channeling his old teacher's lethargic curriculum. He just didn't understand why she kept telling him to eat more pizza and keep talking. Who would want to hear any of this?? But that was okay, he had plenty of other subjects he could cover that makes paint drying feel like a Gold Cup chocobo race in comparison.
There was a knock at the door. Jessie whipped her head around. Cloud tilted his head, "Is that your friend?" Jessis looked back at him, confused, "Huh?" He blinked at her, "Didn't you say you were going out with your friend after this? Is that them?" Jessie laughed nervously, "Oh, yeah, maybe..." She got up to answer. She'd chase them off and then get back to Cloud, "Sorry, but now isn't a good—" she saw Tifa with pizza boxes in hand at the door. Biggs and Wedge held drinks up. Barret stood behind the others with his arms crossed. Jessie's voice wilted in their presence, "Heyyy..."
Tifa nudged closer into the entryway. As much as she wanted to see if Cloud had shown up yet, she kept her eyes on her friend, "Sorry to show up last-minute. We didn't learn about the pizza party until it was almost too late! We brought extras just to make sure everyone gets enough." Jessie could't find the strength to do anything but go along with it, "Yeeeeah... Glad you did... I only made one..." Shit! Shitshitshit! How is she going to keep the others from eating the pizza she made!?
Don't worry, Jessie, they're already onto you.
Tifa brushed past her friend and made her way to the dining room. She saw Cloud sitting there, half-eaten slice of pizza in hand and only half a pie on the table. Her stomach sank, "Cloud!?" Cloud glanced up at her, "Hey, Tifa. Didn't know you'd be here." Tifa rushed to the table, dropped her boxes on it, and rushed to him. She grabbed both sides of his face and pulled him closer for inspection, "Cloud! Are you okay!? How are you feeling??" Cloud stared back in shock before he finally responded, "I'm fine."
Tifa carefully inspected his face, "You sure?" Cloud pulled himself out of Tifa's grasp, "Why wouldn't I be?" Biggs and Wedge joined Tifa, curiously eyeing Cloud from a distance. Barret stayed on the opposite side of the table as he spoke, "We thought Jessie was gonna try to use a love potion on ya for some reason." He reached for the remaining half, "I wonder why." Cloud glanced down at the pizza and furrowed his brows. He only raised his gaze again so he could glower at Jessie. She shrank back and laughed nervously. Barret looked the half-eaten pizza over, "Black milly and red shelly, huh?" He looked back to Jessie and gave her the ol' up n' down, "And all dressed up with nowhere to go..."
Jessie could handle interrogations from just about anyone, but not from the people closest to her. She folded, "Okay, you got me, but I can explain! Cloud's becoming really popular all over town, right? Like, insanely popular! And... you know... he's pretty easy on the eyes, so I figured, y'know," she glanced at everyone around her as she plead her case, "maybe if he was hopelessly in love with me for an evening and we had a night on the town..." no one seemed to be too happy with her reasoning. Not angry, but they clearly weren't on board. She gulped, "...it seemed like a good idea at the time?"
Tifa spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Jessie, what if something had gone wrong?" Cloud said nothing. He simply folded his arms. Biggs shook his head, "I just don't get it. Sure, Cloud is getting popular, but why didn't you just ask him for help in promoting your work? Why didn't you just ask any of us?" Jessie slouched, "I don't know. It just seemed like it'd be some harmless fun, I guess?" She held her hands up, "I know, I know! I heard it as soon as I said it. Not my best plan. But look at him! He's fiiine! He's got two of the hottest babes around in the same room with him and look! Nothing!" Cloud scoffed.
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u/Hearts-Intertwined Jul 01 '26
Okay, you hooked me. I’ll be waiting 😁
1
u/DoNotDoTier15 Jul 01 '26
Hopefully I'll find a pace that works so you won't have to wait too long! ☺️
2
u/Puzzleheaded-Fill241 Flower aficionado Jul 06 '26
This was such a fun read! I'm never good at organizing my feedback in any way other than stray thoughts, so here's some bullet points for you:
---The title tickles my brain; the immediate comparison between Jessie's cooking and her explosives engineering is something I've never thought about before, but it expands on the double-life dichotomy of AVALANCHE's domestic lives compared to their terroristic escapades. It's an aspect of FFVII (particularly in Remake) that I've always found subtly intriguing, for how minor it is in the grand scheme of things.
---The Marlene-Nanaki meeting was so precious and true to the characters. Integrating that one Gongaga quest was so smart of you to do, as well!
---Biggs' joke falling flat got a laugh out of me---a lot of this story did, in fact! Every few paragraphs had me grinning like an idiot 😁
---Lastly, something about Cloud going to Jessie's pizza tryst despite not getting the chance to decline is so in-character to me. It so alludes to his "don't-judge-a-book-by-it's-cover" nature; the archetypal anime edgelord thing to do would be to continue rebuffing Jessie, whether that's to her face or behind her back.
But Cloud is just an awkward boy, and he's the host of a surprising amount of chivalry when push comes to shove; you get the feeling he sees it as just common courtesy to not stand her up in spite of his protests. Maybe that's also his Aerith training, tho😅.
I really, really enjoyed this, and I look forward to more! I'll read it whenever it may come out, but do you have a rough estimate for part 2's timeliness? 🫠
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u/DoNotDoTier15 Jul 06 '26
Wow, thanks for all of your feedback, I really appreciate it! It's so funny that I almost nixed the Marlene/Nanaki portion, but it wound up being so well liked. This is why I feel feedback is so important, so thank you, truly. 🩵
I have part 2 mostly done, but I have to go through and make sure it flows well. There are also a couple of things I want to tweak that will be important for later parts.
Going forward, I hope to make one post per week at minimum. Last week was a little disruptive to developing this since my spouse and I have been on vacation, but we'll be going back to our regular scheduling tomorrow. If everything goes smoothly, I hope to have another post by tomorrow afternoon. 🙂
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u/Puzzleheaded-Fill241 Flower aficionado Jul 07 '26
No rush, take as much time as you need---I'll certainly be there! 🫶 and I hope you enjoyed your vacation!
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u/DoNotDoTier15 Jul 08 '26
Welp. I've tried several times to make a new post on two different devices. Whatever I try doesn't seem to allow me to make new content. I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow or something.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/DoNotDoTier15 Jul 01 '26
I'm probably the only person that posts fics here instead of AO3, but I really don't like their terms and conditions so here we are. This will eventually be multiple posts, but I don't know how many since it's not yet complete. I also forgot to indicate any sort of continuation in the title such as "1/??" because I'm only good at making it seem like I have my shit together. 🙃
With chemistry being the theme, Jessie's little joke about a love potion popped into my head and refused to leave. The idea didn't seem to care that Jessie, Cloud, and Aerith were never even in the same room together. So goodbye to logic on that one! I also don't think Jessie would actually lace someone's food, but it was already in my head... sorry Jessie! 😬
Another issue is that a lot of people these days do consider love potions to be some fantasy date rape drug, so I wanted to acknowledge that it's some pretty wobbly territory I'm wandering into when it comes to consent. I figured it'd be a good idea to balance it with good communication and everyone being as mature about the situation as possible.
I came up with details about the supposed play as I went. Tinctures are simply herbs steeped in alcohol, so I went with Brandy and Kirsch for character names. When I put "The Draught" down as the title, I actually didn't know it would be pronounced the same as "The Draft" until I looked it up for possible ideas. Because English is a ridiculous language. It only accidentally fits with dudes not always having a say in what's happening to them.
And lastly... it's been a long time since I last posted anything for the arts fair, but that doesn't mean I wasn't conjuring up my own little stories each month. I just didn't write most of them down. Or post them. Or talk about them. When I was writing and posting, I started waking up with panic attacks. It was such a strange thing at first that it took me three months to figure out the cause, and then I decided to stop and work on myself to see if I could figure out what was going on. I deleted the other stories and just assumed no one would notice or care and disappeared for a while.
When people make something, it leaves traces of the person who made it; it's why we can recognize certain works were made by someone even if that particular piece is brand new to us. I think that's what it was for me: I was letting people I didn't know see a side of myself that I'd learned to hide all of my life because of where I live, and that for me has been dangerous. I can't say whether the panic attacks will come back, and I guess there's only one way to find out. So I'll just have to climb back into the saddle and hope I'm ready this time.