Story time! I bounced another, older work with kelleyj17, and this is the result. She's been betaing the story and giving thoughts and pointers on this little crime mystery. It should start slow to get everything into place, but expect some depictions of gore, a little smut and some other stuff when I get to it. I mean you should already expect bad stuff from me when I hit that horror button, but I digress. I might release the original story much later as a companion piece, but that won't be for a while.
Tifa sat at the family table after fixing up breakfast for her family, the ceiling fan ceaselessly trying to cool the warm air of early summer. She scooped up some of her oatmeal and glanced at the other three as she began to eat, Denzel and Marlene still bleary eyed and yawning. Cloud was sipping his coffee, reading a folded newspaper he held in one hand. He looked up as her gaze lingered, then gave her a small smile before returning to the paper.
Yesterday had been a good day.
She closed the bar and Cloud didn't take any deliveries, and they took a road trip to Kalm. They visited Elmyra, who commented that Marlene was bigger than ever and that Denzel was going to be a rather tall man some day. They had tea together before leaving to visit the other areas of the town, conversing about their day to day routines and little stories here and there.
As they left, Cloud held Tifa's hand and motioned his head towards a small restaurant front that was set up close to the protective wall of the town. "Hey, d'you wanna try that place out? They're really good."
Tifa glanced the way he had pointed. It looked rather cozy to her. "If you say they're good, I'd like to check it out." She looked down at the children, Marlene holding the hand Cloud wasn't softly rubbing with his thumb. Denzel held to Cloud's arm, looking about the town and eyeing some of the merchant stalls they passed by. "They have a kids menu, right?"
Cloud was silent for a few moments before making a deep, uncertain hum with his throat. "Um, I don't really know...I think they'll like the food, though."
She snorted and giggled at his awkward answer, squeezing his hand gently. "Yeah, they'll be fine."
It was a hole in the wall restaurant he frequented for lunch if he was in the area, with some of the freshest fish the town had to offer he had explained. Cloud had ordered his regular, a salmon dish made with a local cream sauce Tifa was vaguely familiar with and unsurprised with his choice. The Nibel area they were from made use of cream sauces frequently, and food was one of the only things either of them felt nostalgia over. Food only ever brought about the good memories of their hometown.
Tifa had decided a pasta dish would be nice. She hadn't had fresh pasta in a very long time.
"What's this?" Marlene pointed at the name of a dish on the menu she held.
"Octopus tentacles," Denzel teased before either Cloud or Tifa could answer.
She made a face and shook her head. "That's gross."
"Denzel..." Tifa tsked before looking at the menu, frowning. "Oh. Well, yes...that's what it is."
Cloud let out a low chuckle. "It's not as bad as it sounds, Marlene."
Marlene shook her head. "I want the rice bowl. I know that's good."
They finished up their orders and relaxed into their chairs, Cloud's eyes scanning the restaurant then falling on Tifa. She gave him a reassuring smile. He always tended to scan his surroundings for anything out of place, a habit from their journey to defeat Sephiroth. Old habits died hard, she mused to herself.
Denzel tugged on Cloud's shirt to get his attention. Cloud looked down at him and raised a brow. "Can we go to the beach after this?"
Cloud looked up at Tifa. "If it's alright with you..."
Tifa nodded. "That would be nice."
Their meals came out after a while and they started to eat, Cloud and Tifa sharing a bite of their meals as the children jokingly argued over what was better, Marlene's rice bowl or Denzel's fried trout. At one point as they almost finished their meals Tifa caught Cloud staring at a woman at another table, causing her to frown. Tifa looked at the woman, examining her. "Someone you know?"
He turned his gaze to Tifa and shrugged. "Tryin' to remember. I know I've seen her somewhere."
"Well, you come to Kalm often enough that one of the restaurants know what you like to eat," she said with a grin. "You've probably delivered to her and forgot."
Cloud nodded, laughing lightly. "Yeah, maybe that's it." He finished off the last few bites on his plate before turning his head back to look at Tifa, an amused smile dancing on his lips. "Don't tell me you were gettin' jealous."
Tifa let out a little snort before sipping her drink. "Not nearly to the point you can get to at the bar," she teased, giving him a quick wink. He gently grabbed her wrist and gave it a squeeze, the worn leather of his gloves soft on her skin.
After paying for their meals the makeshift family made their way to the beach at the bay, Marlene and Denzel kicking off their shoes and folding up their pants to wade in the small waves after being given two plastic buckets by their guardians. Cloud and Tifa watched from the sandy shore, sitting down next to each other. Tifa leaned on him and he placed his arm on her shoulder, inviting her to rest her head near his chest. It felt good, the warmth from the sun and the sea breeze, the sound of the children talking and giggling and Cloud's even breathing as he watched over them all.
"We should really do this more often..." Tifa murmured.
She felt Cloud move to look down at her, then felt his fingers move the stray hairs on her face the breeze had flapped out of place. "I think so, too. I...don't feel as burdened as I used to, anymore..."
Tifa knew instinctively what he meant; they both had burdens from the past, and they both had different and similar ways of confronting them. Slowly they were coming to terms with everything, it just seemed it had taken Cloud a little bit longer for one reason or another. He was content at the moment, and that was good enough for her. "I'm glad." Tifa put her arm around Cloud's waist. "Still just one day at a time, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah. No more dilly-dallying, though."
They spent most of the afternoon on the beach, Denzel and Marlene leaving with a bucketful of colorful shells each. They all made their way to a small pizza shop for an early dinner before making their way back to Edge in time for bed. For the children, at least. Cloud had pressed Tifa against the wall as soon as the door to their room was closed, passionately kissing her and grinding against her hips. He lifted his head after a few minutes, Tifa relinquishing his lower lip from between her teeth as he rose. "It's still a bit early," he said with a smirk, his voice low and husky. "and we didn't get to play on the beach this afternoon."
Tifa let out a little giggle as she slowly unzipped Cloud's vest. "You'll have to take me out there again sometime, just us two..."
Cloud was frantically working on the buttons of her blouse, chuckling. "Maybe when they go to Corel for a week." He hissed as he sucked in a breath, Tifa was dancing the fingers of her free hand over his chest. His skin was hot to the touch, making the summer air seem cool in comparison.
Her hands made their way down as the zipper parted and she worked on Cloud's belt blindly, feeling the metal buckle and the leather strap loosen enough for her to slide a hand down his pants. He paused his work on the front of Tifa's bra and let out a low groan before jerking his hips forward as she moved her hand up and down. Cloud's eyes met her's. "Aren't you eager..." he said as he rubbed a hard nipple through the fabric of her partially unhinged bra.
She smirked up at him before slipping her hand out of his pants and wrapped her arms around his neck, then kissed him again. He hitched her thigh up to his hip, gliding his hand over the skin slowly and making her moan into his mouth. Before she knew it they were both on the bed, playfully wrestling over who would be on top. A little pinch of the nipple here, and Cloud rolled on top and grinded teasingly into her wet panties. A grab at Cloud's privates there, and Tifa would climb onto him and tease him with her nails as she sat over his groin. Tifa eventually won, but found no complaints from Cloud as she took control.
Tifa had woken up that morning entwined in Cloud's limbs, his arm holding her tightly to his chest. It had been a very good day for the both of them. Cloud hadn't shown even a smidgen of anxiety but for his lookout habit.
He had been so happy as of late, too. Cloud's last episode where his anxiety and PTSD reared their ugly heads was sometime late the month before last, but was oddly and refreshingly short lived. After a period of two days where he shut himself up in his office muttering to himself he abruptly left, going for a long drive on Fenrir one evening. Tifa wanted to beg him to stay, but something in those mako soaked eyes kept her quiet; he needed to be alone. She didn't sleep the entire night, fretting over him. Tifa felt a wave of relief wash over her when Cloud returned a little after dawn, tired but strangely serene. Tifa could smell the lilies of the church on him that morning, but thought nothing of it. If the church and Aerith could help heal him where she could not, she would accept it. So long as Cloud was here to stay, as long as he found his way back to his family.
Tifa squinted her eyes at an article on the other side of the paper Cloud held as he ate his breakfast. 'Another strange death.' It was ruled suspicious, a body found in the sewers by city workers several days ago. The paper claimed it was identified as an Eli Frentwheel. She frowned; wasn't that the customer with an old tab? Tifa decided to look at the list later.
Cloud knocked back the rest of his coffee and put the paper down. "Guess I better get going. I've got a lot of deliveries today, but I should be home in time for dinner."
"Really?" Marlene asked hopefully.
He nodded. "I won't have to go out to Fort Condor today. Just Junon, Kalm, and some of the farms near Kalm."
"If you come home late we'll just have to stay up and wait for you." Denzel said with a wry smile.
Tifa shook her head. "I don't care if it's summer vacation, you two are keeping to a schedule." She looked at Cloud with a half smile. "Don't tempt them."
He let out a small chuckle as he lifted himself from his seat. "I'll try not to."
He said his goodbyes to his family before leaving on Fenrir, the motorcycle's rumbling engine disappearing into the distance. Tifa cleaned up the table after the children were finished with their meals, then let them go out to play. It was a little early, but the other children in the neighborhood would be out soon. It would be warm and humid today, Edge situated on the shores of the North Sea that connected to North Continent. It kept the city cooler than the villages near Chocobo Farm but the humidity more than made up for it.
Tifa walked over to the counter of the bar, newspaper in hand, and took a look at the tab ledger she took from under the till. Her nimble fingers went down the list of names written on the paper, resting on the name from the newspaper. Eli Frentwheel, one hundred fifty gil. It was dated over three weeks ago. Tifa let out a little huff; she wondered who he could have possibly upset to have ended up dead in a sewer. That is, if it was a murder and not an accident. The newspaper left much to the imagination.
Eli was becoming a regular at her bar after showing up one evening two months ago. Middle aged and friendly, talking about his day as a guard for one of the local banks from time to time. Tifa thought Cloud would pay no attention to him considering Eli's age and lack of interest in her, but on the nights Cloud and Eli occupied the bar together she would catch Cloud glaring at him. Cloud never said anything to Tifa, though. It wasn't like the other, younger men, when he might make a passing remark.
She had asked one night what his problem was. "It's not like he's flirting with me, Cloud. Why does he have you sulking?"
Cloud had a dark pout on his face, arms crossed tightly on top of his chest. "He just seems off to me."
With that Tifa had rolled her eyes and sighed, tossing a dishcloth onto the counter. She loved him but sometimes he could be so jealous, she had thought. Being like that towards an older customer, that was a habit Tifa would like to stamp out.
Not that it mattered anymore in this case. Eli was dead. She scratched out the name, a faint sadness in her heart. He had been rather nice.
She cleaned up around the house before some last minute touches to the bar, ready for the lunch crowd. Customers trickled in here and there, a local detective that was a regular at her establishment sitting by the counter and striking up a conversation with the barmaid as always. Evan was a good acquaintance of both Cloud and Tifa, the two assisting he and his girlfriend Kyrie in their search for fuel and directions to Nibelheim. The conversation turned to the suspicious death, Tifa wondering if Evan had any information. The victim was one of her patrons, why wouldn't she be curious? "So, did you hear anything about Eli Frentwheel's case, Evan?"
He nodded after finishing his meal and sipping his tea. One of Evan's hands propped up his head, his angular chin resting on his palm. "They could identify him because he still had his wallet on him, so it wasn't a robbery gone wrong. They don't have any leads, and they might never. It's an older murder, probably about a month old."
'That's about the last time I saw him.' Tifa raised a brow as she dried a glass. "It was confirmed to have been a murder?"
Evan looked about with his ice blue eyes before looking at Tifa again. "Yeah. The body isn't in good shape but the examiner noticed clean cuts that went straight into the bones." He paused, his lips pursed.
"Wait. The bones were cut into?"
He nodded, then tapped the counter with his fingers as Tifa waited for him to continue. "Yeah. Severed the ribs from the spine on one side, so we know he was running away from whoever it was. The left hand was partially amputated, too. There's other injuries, ones that look like slashes or stabs but they're difficult to identify because of the state of the body."
She raised her brows in surprise. "I hope it's not going to become a habit in Edge to find such things." Edge had its bad parts, but murder wasn't particularly commonplace.
"I doubt it, but with the high profile murders recently...I don't think this one is connected. It's too different, but then again it's too early to say for sure." The detective shrugged, not having much more to say. They had already discussed the two murders that had occurred last month, both terribly grisly and involving important members of the local scientific community.
Tifa sighed, putting the dry glass down. "That's all we would need, a serial killer on the loose in Edge."
"I know, right? I worry about Vits and Kyrie enough as it is." He finished his tea and laid some bills on the counter. "I gotta go. Take care, Tifa."
The day continued on, the children coming in for a late lunch before barging out of the front door again. Tifa watched them leave, a little worry panging at her heart. What if there was a serial killer on the loose? Would she and Cloud be able to protect them? She knew neither of them could be there for them all the time, and they couldn't keep them cooped up in the house, either.
As always, they would weather it.
At least, she hoped so. The thought of someone slicing into another's back, maybe even stabbing them through, was something she would rather not think of. It was eerily similar to the way Aerith had died. She was killed right in front of him by a fatal sword strike from behind, and Tifa was afraid of what would happen if Cloud heard about it. Such an image might trigger his PTSD again, and he had been so happy lately. The nightmares hadn't haunted him, he hadn't gazed through her with the thousand yard stare, he didn't hide himself in the corner of his office, brooding over things he never spoke about with a bottle of Corel wine in his hand and scruff along his jaw. Tifa wanted Cloud to be happy as long as he could hold on, and she would help him keep that grip on the fleeting emotion. He earned it, after all.
The children finally came home for good before the dinner rush, Marlene helping with drinks and Denzel busing tables. Tifa had a small evening menu that she could keep to, easily making an order of wings or fries or burgers to keep her patrons content. Sometimes one of the neighborhood children would come over and buy a glass of juice, a habit kept since the opening of the bar. Children had as many woes as adults in this age, and a cup of juice was a good way to remember that they were kids that enjoyed simple little things. Marlene always tested out any new juices they might sell, and occasionally Denzel would give his opinion on them too.
She looked at the clock, it was nearing closing time. Customers began to slowly leave, finishing their drinks and giving friendly, tipsy waves at the three as they made their way out the door. The children helped clean up the bar and Tifa divided up the evening tips between them, part as an allowance with most of it going towards their personal savings for when they were older. She and Cloud had decided it was best that the children had something saved up for the future; Tifa especially took to the idea in case something terrible happened. When she had woken up in a clinic in the slums of Midgar with a new scar marring her chest, she had nothing but her martial arts training and painful memories.
So, during the summer when the children helped out in the bar they would get a share of the tips.
Tifa sighed and tossed a casserole in the oven before ushering the children upstairs to clean up after their help in the bar. She took the lock box from under her bed and stowed away the gil for their savings, then hiding it back away behind a few little boxes filled with old knickknacks. Eventually she would transfer it to the bank after the week was over, she thought. Tifa left the master bedroom after opening another window and walked past the bathroom, the sound of the shower's spray reaching her ears. She glanced towards Marlene's room, the door creaked open; Denzel was probably relaxing in his room before it was his turn.
She walked into Cloud's office, looking over the small mess of receipts and orders that littered the floor as they did on most days. Tifa collected them up and placed them on the desk before gazing at the pictures he had sitting next to the landline for his service. During the day she would take a call here or there, or the children would if they were inside. If they couldn't take care of it Cloud had it set up where it would redirect to his cellphone without giving away his private number.
Two pictures; one of his family and one of their family of friends. She caught Cloud on more than one occasion staring fondly at either one, sometimes on his good days and sometimes on the bad ones. The family picture had been updated recently. They were outside Seventh Heaven and Cloud was closer to her and the children, everyone smiling. His was shy and a little faint, but he had that cocky glint in his eyes from sassing Yuffie before she took the picture. Denzel looked more confident, the Geostigma sore that marred his head gone.
Eventually the children were all cleaned up and the food ready, but no sound in the distance of Cloud's motorcycle. Tifa sighed as she took the pan out of the oven and let the casserole cool down. It was still plenty warm, the fans doing all they could to keep the bar and house just comfortable enough. "I hope this summer isn't like last year's."
"Me too. It was too hot to do anything!" Denzel said from his seat.
Marlene nodded in agreement. "I felt so gross from all the sweat."
Tifa laughed. "I did, too."
She waited a bit longer, delaying dinner for as long as she could. Finally she shrugged and began dividing up the casserole between their plates, serving the children before slowly walking to her seat and putting her platter of food on the table when she heard a quickly approaching rumble. She turned her head and walked over towards the garage door, arms crossed and a brow raised.
Cloud opened the door after a minute and blushed at the look Tifa gave him. She tsked and tapped her foot on the floor. "You're late." she said playfully.
He pulled out a few flowers from behind his back. "Sorry, Teef. Had another delivery I couldn't say no to."
Tifa's face brightened, and she hugged Cloud tightly before she took the flowers. "Oh, Cloud! This was sweet of you."
Cloud hugged her back before she parted to quickly find a vase from under the counter to place them in. They were red carnations, different than the usual lilies and wildflowers he favored. Cloud walked over to his chair and sat, a soft smile on his lips. She studied him; this time he wasn't covered in monster blood, fortunately. "How was your day?" she asked as she fixed up his plate.
He took his gloves off before picking up his fork. "It was alright. A little more boring than usual, actually." He shrugged lightly before digging into his food. They conversed quietly about their day, how Denzel and his friends found some gil in an alley way or how Marlene played jump rope with two of the neighborhood kids. Tifa kept quiet about her day, wanting to talk about Eli with Cloud alone.
The evening went on as usual, the children helping Cloud with his receipts and travel routes after he took a shower. He joined Tifa in their bedroom after they put the children to bed, cuddling up next to her as a summer breeze blew through the window. "So how was your day, Teef? You never talked about it during dinner."
Tifa settled under the thin sheet covering them, laying a hand over Cloud's wrist. "Same as it always is." Her brows creased. "I found out one of my regulars was murdered."
"Oh?"
She looked into his face, his glowing eyes waiting for more information. "I suppose you didn't remember him. His name was Eli Frentwheel, he had a tab at the bar."
Something seemed to register in Cloud's eyes before he narrowed them and looked away towards the far wall. "Who told you?"
"It was in the newspaper this morning. The name looked familiar, so I checked my tabs." She let out a little hum, tapping her fingers on hip. "I wonder who could've had it in for him?" Carving him up and dumping him in a sewer. Ghoulish. Tifa didn't mention how Eli died, not wanting him to begin thinking of one of his family members ending up just like this man.
"Dunno. Maybe he had a shadier side to him." Cloud remarked lowly. He looked over at her again. "Did he owe a lot?"
Tifa shook her head. "Just a hundred fifty gil. Not that much."
"I see."
"I guess it's just...it hit kinda close to home." Tifa moved closer to him despite the heat.
"Are you worried?"
She frowned and raised a brow. "Aren't you?"
Cloud shrugged. "It wasn't anybody close to us, and it wasn't- it wasn't close to the bar, right?"
"Well, no, but still-"
"Maybe he upset the wrong people. You didn't know him that well, right?" His eyes were searching hers.
Tifa rolled her eyes. Of course he wouldn't care that someone that was in her bar that he didn't like was killed. "Cloud, someone died. Someone that came to my bar and drank and ate and talked. I was getting to know him a little bit, like I do all of my regulars."
Cloud sighed and turned onto his back to look at the ceiling. "I didn't mean it like that, Teef. I meant that it was probably just another murder. Not that he wasn't someone with a life and a backstory, but that I'm not worried one of us are next. That's all."
"Hm. What would it take to get you worried?" she challenged him gently.
He shrugged. "Probably if something like that happened much closer to the bar." Cloud turned his head and gave Tifa a kiss on her cheek. "If that happens, I'll watch the bar until they're caught." His finger tickled at her thigh, making little circles on the skin.
Tifa shifted to her side to face him, letting out a little giggle as he continued to caress her skin. He shifted onto his side as well and danced his calloused fingers along the side of her torso, making her sigh happily. Coming in for another kiss, Tifa felt reassured that whatever was happening in Edge, her family was safe.