"You're swinging the sword the wrong way," Cloud said. Although he was putting on his usual soft-spoken voice, there was a hint on irritation and annoyance hidden within.
You grunted.
Your 'mentor', 'coach', 'superior', whatever you wanted to call him, was giving you a really hard time today, more than he usually did. You had asked Cloud to teach you how to use some weapons, such as swords, to defend yourself. You didn't want him or any of the gang to help you anymore, you wanted to protect yourself. However, you had zero experience when it came to weaponry.
"I'm trying to do it just like you showed me!" you whined, gripping your weapon and swinging it again.
"Your wrist is bent the wrong way," he said.
"You're seriously biting me out because of that!?"
Cloud sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his gloved fingers. It made you wonder who was more annoyed with who at this point.
"Listen, (y/n), if you want to fight, you have to do it properly."
"Well look, I'm sorry if I'm not doing it 'right', but this is easier for me."
Cloud let his hand drop to his thigh. He studied you for a few moments. His stare was making you a little bit nervous. His face was expressionless, it almost resembled a stone, a cold stone. You gulped slightly, waiting for whatever he would say or do. And whatever it was, it was definitely not good.
"Cloud, wha-" you asked but were cut off by him suddenly swinging his sword at an almost inhuman pace and you instinctively flexed and put your sword in front of you, causing both your weapons to clash. You looked at him with a confused look.
"If you show me that your way is better for you, I'll consider it," he said, with the tiniest smirk on his face.
Right after he said those words, he swung his sword again and made the two sharp, steel objects to come together with a strong crashing sound. A few minutes passed with you dodging, attacking, and defending. To say the least, you were doing pretty good and by the look on the blonde's face, he was also impressed. This had actually been the first time you had brawled against him. Of course his attacks and movements were more stronger and faster than yours, but you always found out a way to overcome them. When you saw that he was becoming out of breath by all the fighting, you took an opportunity to put all the rest of your strength into one last blow, leaving you crying out a loud, solid grunt. That blow made Cloud loose grip of his Buster sword, causing it to fly a few meters away and onto the pavement. When he looked back at you, you were pointing the sword at him with a stern, yet proud expression.
"Do you consider it now?" you asked in a slightly teasing tone.
Cloud remained silent and expressionless once again. Then, when you least expected it, he went down and kicked your legs out from under you, making them go midway into the air and resulting in you landing on your back with a loud thump.
"Owww!" you screamed.
"I'll consider the sword fight, but not your guard," he said, with a very big hint of amusement.
You groaned, sat up, rubbed your back, and gave the man a glare.
"That hurt!"
For the first time ever in years, Cloud put on a genuine big smile. You almost forgot what you were mad about after realizing it. He extended his hand out to you and you took it.
"Not bad... Although you really have to work on your awareness. Always be on guard."
His smile faded while saying that sentence. Your grouchy mood was coming back. You didn't say anything in return. He was always so hard to please...
You grabbed your sword and started to walk away, intending to go straight to your room to let out some tears. However, you were stopped by a hand being placed on your shoulder.
"Hey, you did a good job today... I'm proud of you."
Your eyes widened at his words. A smile crept onto your face. As you were turning to say a thank you, you froze as you felt a pair of soft, warm lips grazing your cheek. When Cloud pulled back, he turned around and started to walk away. You didn't know if you were more flustered or offended by what he did.
"W-W-W-WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" you yelled, your face a hundred degrees.
Cloud turned to the side slightly, but enough for you to see his cheeky smirk.
"Your reward."
END
*(A/N)-I'm just giving you guys a heads up on what to expect these next few stories;
Vincent Valentine
Gladiolus Amicitia
Prompto Argentum
Genesis Rhapsodos
Prequel to Noel Kreiss x OC*
