Inheritance (Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth)

꧁ XIV ꧂

A/N: Half of this chapter is dedicated to the Rendezvous in Costa del Sol side quest. Some details have been changed, but the premise remains the same. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
••••••••••••••••••••

Just before the party could leave Costa del Sol, they were spotted by the trio of women who had been fawning over Hojo. They all gasped and pointed at Cloud before running up to him.

"You're the one who got into it with that Shinra scientist," the woman in the white swimsuit said.

"Oh, wow—it is you!" The woman in the multi-colored swimsuit gasped.

"I'm Fran."

"And I'm Naomi."

"Name's Yorda," the third woman introduced herself.

"And we would like to hire you for a job. Interested?" Fran asked.

Cloud glanced at Lailah, who shrugged her shoulder in uncertainty. He then looked back at the three women. "That depends."

"It's simple. Girl and boy go on a date. Easy-peasy, right?" Naomi replied.

Lailah placed a hand on her hip. "I...was not expecting this. Why a date?"

"The three of us are designers for Costa del Sol's premier fashion boutique," Fran explained.

"For our next line...we're thinking something sexy—perfect for the beach, the bar, or in the boudoir," Yorda added.

"But creatively speaking, it's been a struggle. We've been racking our brains forever!" Naomi expressed her frustration. "And the showcase is basically now."

"It's do or die, and we don't wanna kill our careers So! That's where you come in. We wanna see a real couple on a date—for inspiration."

"Well? Sound like a good gig?" Fran inquired.

Cloud crossed his arms. "Why us?"

"'Cause we can tell you like your women assertive."

"And since we're all about strong, confident ladies, we thought "ka-ching"!" Yorda said.

Naomi gestured to the snowy-haired girl. "One look at you, and we knew "That woman's not afraid to take what she wants"."

Lailah blinked in shock. "Me? Assertive? Um..." Her voice trailed off, unsure if she was the assertive type.

Cloud had been wanting to take her on a date for a while. They spent a lot of time together yesterday by themselves, but it didn't feel like a traditional date because the others were still with them. Even though it was a job, he figured this would be a good time to familiarize himself with possible date options in the future since he struggled with romance. "We'll do it."

Yorda smiled at his response. "We knew you would! And so..."

"We've already planned the perfect date for lovebirds like you," Naomi said. "Get rowdy at Run Wild!"

"Be ready to swashbuckle at Pirate's Rampage!" Fran chanted. "This is going to be your best date yet! We'll make sure of it!"

The three women walked away.

"Best date? It'll be our first," Lailah commented. "But...does it really count as our first if it's planned by someone else?"

"I'm not counting it," Cloud said. "It's a job more than a real date since we're getting paid."

"We'll save our first real date for later, then." She turned to look at the others, only to discover they were gone. "Wait, where did everybody go?"

Cloud turned around and saw the others were missing as well. "Looks like they took off."