"Come with me"
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I'd totally love to :)
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It was one of those days, middle of the week and perfect weather. The bar was empty, but despite this fact the barmaid chose to sit behind the counter, catching up on cleaning and going over her accounting books.
'Food delivery was more than normal, but that evened out with last Friday's crowd... hmm, what's this charge for-- oh, right...'
Ah, yes, it was another day in the rather mundane life of Tifa Lockhart. Not that she minded mundane. After all she'd been through, after every journey, every death, every nefarious silver haired villain, Tifa didn't mind mundane at all. Well, okay, maybe just a little.
She did have to admit that as much as she loved her cozy life in Edge, she sometimes wished she were back on the road. Her attempts at speaking to Cloud about his journeys were half in order to get him to talk, and half to relive, vicariously, the feeling of traveling from town to town, seeing new sights and meeting new people. Make no mistake, Tifa was happy in her life, but a little... "spice"... could do her some good.
After finishing her books, and rechecking them, then re-rechecking them, then scrubbing down the bar yet again, Tifa finally gave up on the day. The weather was too good for most of her customers to come in, and the newly opened park in Midgar, with all its opening festivities, would probably keep away her regulars as well.
It certainly kept away the younger occupants of the household. Barret had come in, per Marlene's request, and had taken the two children down to the park for the day. Tifa had a brief notion to go and join them, but something told her that Marlene really needed the time with her father, and the thought of leaving Denzel out of it would never cross the young girl's mind.
And so, Tifa was alone, and bored, and her bar was spotless. If nothing else, she felt accomplished.
After sitting around and gazing out the front windows for a few moments, Tifa let out a large sigh. She stood and went to grab a rag, set on cleaning the kids room. She'd only cleaned it once today...
Before she could ascend the stairs, she heard it. The gentle purr, growing to a fierce growl, headed straight for the bar. She smiled.
Tifa replaced the rag and, unconsciously, ran her fingers through her hair, wondering if she should try to look busy when he walked in or if she should just admit straight out that she was bored out of her mind. She didn't have long to think about it. Fenrir parked outside and its sole rider, a mister Cloud Strife, strode confidently into the building, package under arm.
Tifa, still standing behind the bar, flashed a dazzling smile at his approach. She couldn't quite read his expression from behind his sunglasses, but she could tell he was in a hurry.
"Here, this is from Cid. He said something about a broken... um..." Cloud fought diligently with his mind for the word, but for the life of him he couldn't remember it. Granted, he'd only heard the slurred version, and hadn't recognized it, but he still didn't want to appear, well, dumb.
Tifa just smiled again, gratefully taking the package. In the back of her mind she recalled a conversation with Cid which concluded with him stating that he'd get her a new one. A new what, she didn't know, but at least it would give her something to do today.
After Tifa placed the package in a back room, she hurried out to see Cloud off. It wasn't every day that he'd stop off right in the middle of his day just to bring a package home.
'I'm usually last on the list,' she grimaced inwardly. It made sense, since Cloud would always return home, that any packages for her would come home with him. It's just that, sometimes it made her feel... no, she wouldn't dwell on it.
Cloud was lingering at the bar, fingering his sunglasses which were now in his hands. Tifa noted the indentation over his nose, where his glasses had lain all day. It was the little things, small imperfections, that sometimes made her heart swell and gave her the most bizarre urge to reach out and touch him, hug him, anything.
For a moment, no one spoke. Cloud fingered his glasses, almost nervously, while refusing eye contact. Tifa smiled softly at him, gazing at his handsome face. Were anyone else to see them, they would know exactly what was happening between the two, even if the active participants denied it vehemently.
"So, the bar is... empty?" Cloud asked, finally meeting her eyes. He had a mixed expression, one Tifa couldn't read.
'Silly girl, since when could you read most of his expressions,' she chided herself.
"Yeah, everyone's at the opening ceremony for the park, or they just aren't here. It happens on good days like today."
Cloud seemed to ponder for a moment.
"The kids?" He asked, almost hopefully.
"With Barret at the park. He'll have them all day, I think." Tifa was becoming a little uncomfortable under the intense gaze Cloud was giving her. He looked... hopeful? Frightened? Confused? Tifa didn't understand how any of these emotions would make sense. It was just small talk, really...
"So... you're alone then? Nothing to do?"
Ah, it suddenly made sense. Cloud wanted to do something, but he was nervous to ask and wanted a reason to avoid the situation altogether. By the look on her face, Cloud realized she'd figured him out. His gaze quickly redirected itself toward his sunglasses again.
"I have another delivery to make," he began, looking back up at her. He stopped abruptly when he saw her face fall. It wasn't much, as Tifa was good at hiding her emotions, but he could tell. He could always tell with her. Every nuance in her voice, every slight twinge on her face, the way she fidgeted, the way she breathed even. She spoke a language of her own, just to him. That was what made it so hard to talk to her.
"Oh, well, will you be home tonight," Tifa asked, looking back down at the counter. Suddenly it seemed to need another going over with a clean rag. It didn't look as shiny as it had a moment ago.
"It's not too far away... just a couple hours, there and back. The guy lives by himself, in a cabin..." He realized that Tifa didn't particularly care about the hermit receiving the package attached to Fenrir.
"I could've stopped there on the way back," he started again, watching her reaction with the knowledge that he was seriously botching this conversation. It was a certain skill of his, to completely destroy any good conversation the two would have.
He watched as she began rubbing her squeaky clean bar with a new rag, nodding her head a little as if to say, "yeah, yeah, whatever, just get out."
Cloud let out a soft sigh and looked away for a moment, towards the side wall. He needed to collect his thoughts. What he had to say wasn't much, but he'd already managed to make her deliriously happen then sullen then angry, and all within ten sentences. He wasn't sure if he was really good or really bad, but at the moment it didn't matter.
"I..." His voice caught in his throat, in an odd sound that made Tifa look up and Cloud look around, momentarily praying that the sound had come from another outside source. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears now, and was certain Tifa could see the blush creeping up on his face. He didn't make eye contact, even though he knew she was trying.
"I want you..." He stopped himself again, though this time he didn't know why. He still wasn't looking at Tifa's face, but he could tell she'd frozen at the words. The bar was silent, and her hand had stopped its ministrations on the bar top.
'Why not just stop there?' he thought to himself. 'Why not just leave it where it is and see what happens? It's the truth and it's finally been said, so why continue on with something a little less than the whole truth?'
As the seconds passed on, Cloud's confidence grew. Yes, he could do this. He could...
He looked at her face, and suddenly, he knew he couldn't do this, not yet. While her face held no anger, no disgust or indifference or any other emotion he couldn't handle, it still held confusion, and a slight amusement. By his intonation alone, she would know that wasn't the whole sentence, that he was just faltering.
Sighing again, Cloud looked back at his trusty sunglasses, always at his side to save him from an awkward moment.
"I want you... to come with me." He looked back at her again, proud to have finally completed an actual sentence, one that showed a desire for her company.
Tifa did look honestly surprised at this, which in turn surprised Cloud. Her shock ended quickly, however, when she processed the information. Tifa was far quicker than Cloud when it came to processing emotions, and she was soon back to "deliriously happy."
Her lips spread in a huge smile, and she threw down her rag haphazardly.
"Put up the Closed sign for me, will you?" she asked over her shoulder as she went to check that the rest of the bar was ready to be left alone. Satisfied that the stove was off and the back door locked, Tifa came back to the front of the bar.
"It's a nice ride," Cloud continued as she neared. "I think you'll enjoy the scenery. We can even stop at the lake if you want."
Tifa let out a small laugh. It sounded as if Cloud had been rehearsing those lines on his drive in, hoping to convince her to go with him.
'You don't need to convince me Cloud,' she thought to herself, grinning at him while he opened the door for her. 'You've never needed to do anything more than ask.'
Cloud smiled at Tifa's back as she locked the door. For a brief moment he caught the scent of lilies coming from her hair. He allowed himself one fast, silent inhale before turning toward the bike.
'It's not much,' he thought. 'It's a start, though. Maybe one day it will be more, but for now...'
He looked back at her once they were both seated, giving her a light smile. It hardly showed compared to the one she gave him, but it delighted her all the more.
Placing her hands on his shoulders as he started the engine, Tifa finally allowed her heart to speed up, her giddiness overflowing. It had been so long since she'd journeyed...
'And what a fine journey we're going on.'
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Author's Note: Yay, I finally posted my first Cloti story! I actually typed it up awhile ago, but I've been lazy about posting. Hopefully I'll find it in my to write more. Until then, I hope you enjoyed it.