Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII is owned by Square (now SquareEnix). Yes, those guys. Not ME.

A/N: This is a one-shot I wrote in an effort to get out of my writer's block and finish my two FFVII fics "Hidden Feelings" and "Reno's Tifa Nightingale" that have been on hiatus since FOREVER, lol. As far as my progress on those two fics: so far, so good. :)

Tifa's Chocobo Flu Blues

'God! Why me?'

I shot up and almost banged my head on the dashboard before I recoiled back into my seat. Although my vision was blurry for a few moments, my surroundings indicated I was placed in the passenger seat of the buggy. Warm, bubbly mucus sputtered from my throat and landed on my tongue. My eyes slammed shut for a second while I covered my mouth with a weak fist to cough some more.

"Tifa, you okay?" A masculine, gruff voice asked. His peripheral vision had me in its scope while his eyes remained its focus on the road. I felt the car swerve from side to side and jump due to potholes as it flew down the highway. He continued to look out the corner of his eye at me with one hand on the wheel, the other on my shoulder. The cold wind blowing through the window felt as if it would rip my skin off with each pass through my face and my hair.

"Want somethin' to eat?"

I didn't answer as a second wave of a coughing fit hit me. Besides, the thought of food was making me nauseous. The shock of the attack fluttered throughout my body, especially throughout my fingertips. Freezing wind blew on my lips and brushed by as soon as it came. I grimaced as I swallowed the bitter substance stuck in my mouth to send it down my throat and plop down in my stomach.

Well, it was either that or hawk my muck out the window. But that's totally unlady-like, right?

I turned to see the large figure lean closer toward me. His eyes scanned my face up and down. I could feel the heat from his face massage my skin.

He returned to his side of the buggy, frowned and crossed his arms. I could see him grit his teeth before he spoke. "Damnit Tifa! You gone' cough any longer? You sound like you got tuberculosis or somethin'!"

My hand jumped up to rub my eyes. I was afraid I would overdo it. The itchy feeling was really getting on my nerves, but the last thing I wanted to happen was for my eyes to turn as red as a glass of Bloody Mary, so I stopped rubbing.

"Barret, please! This is no time for jokes," I said in a weak tone. I felt so embarrassed by my frail voice. My M's, N's and T's sounded so enunciated due to my stuffy nose, my eyes involuntarily averted Barret's and headed for the side window. The buildings and street lights whizzed by before I could see what was what. My chest hurt with each word I released from my larynx, and my only response was to clutch my sides.

"And please, close the windows."

Barret bit his lip before he stared in my eyes and nodded.

"Uh, yeah. Right. Don't want you gettin' any MORE sick than you are now."

I sighed with relief as the wind slowly but surely went away.

"Thank you, Barret."

I jumped when Barret growled and banged his fist on the steering wheel. Fire seemed to burn in his eyes.

"You got the Chocobo Flu out of everybody else in the group, I can't believe it! Even that pesky ninja ain't get it! Ain't that a blip? That girl messes around in more risky acts than a porn star!"

I wheezed and coughed a large ball of mucus into my mouth for me to swallow; lucky me. I took a few seconds to do that before I could reply to Barret.

"Remember Barret, she had the Wutaian Flu when she was little. The Wutaian Flu is related to the Chocobo Flu, so she can't get it."

"Is that so?" Barret grinned. "That lucky bastard."

A surge of energy forced me to sit up and turn in every direction. After all this time, I forgot to ask something very important.

"Barret, what was the last thing that happened to me before I ended up here in the buggy?"

"You don't remember?"

'No, you think?' I thought with a frown on my face. I crossed my arms and huffed foul wind through my partly closed lips. The street before us looked like a giant black, white, red and blue blur. The other cars on the road were like snails compared to the vehicle we were in.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You blacked out," He said.

I did a double take. Could Barret hear what I was thinking? Or was it just a coincidence. I guessed the latter. Barret looked at me for a second before his eyes returned to the road.

"You went with me 'n Spikes to Wutai to visit Yuffie 'cause she wanted a few supplies delivered to her house."

My head went up and down. "Right."

"Then we stopped by Turtles Paradise to get some food, and then-"

I growled. "Barret, I want to know why I was unconscious and why Cloud is gone! Not everything that happened today!"

"Aight, I'll skip ahead. A lil' while after we got done eatin', you said you weren't feelin' too good and then 'Boom!' you collapsed at the table."

"Oh my God," My hand slapped my forehead, which forced my head to sink back into the comfortable headrest. "I feel so embarrassed!"

"Heh, it's all right. Everyone else left before they witnessed you faint like you saw blood or somethin', like a wussy would do."

"Barret?"

He said, looking at me while keeping his eyes on the road. "Yeah?"

I smacked him on the shoulder with a smile. "Shut up."

The buggy came to a complete stop in front of 7th Heaven, which is also the location of Cloud's "Strife Delivery Service" and the orphanage. The loud beeps coming from Barret's open door struck my eardrums like a rugged mallet.

"All right, here we are," Barret said.

He walked over to my door, opened it and reached for my hand. The wind reared its ugly head as it brushed past my neck and face. I groaned before I placed my hand in Barret's, the other holding the bottle of medicine I needed to take. His hands were as warm as a slice of toast fresh from the toaster. His other hand rested against my lower back as we walked toward the front door of 7th heaven. His hand wasn't too close to my butt, thank God.

Barret's finger started to wag in front of me. I rolled my eyes in response.

"Now Tifa, you remember to take your medicine twice a day, get enough sleep, drink plenty of fluids, and...oh boy, I'm beginnin' to sound like Elmyra." He said over my horrible coughs.

Laughter came from my mouth along with the mild burning my throat was going through. Barret turned a little to hide his blushing face.

"Barret! I've been sick before! I know how to deal with this!" I said. The annoying wind vanished once Barret closed the front door. The bar area looked the same as it always does; not to mention the multiple stacks of dirty glasses that sat along the counter. Besides our footsteps, the only other sound in the room came from the ticking of the clock.

My hands balled into fists. I growled. "That Cid! I thought I told him to make sure he washed the dishes and cleaned the counter before he left?"

Barret shrugged. "Guess he ain't bring Shera with him," He took a few steps forward and took a seat at the bar. "Poor woman. What would she do without that old man?"

I nodded. I made my way over to Barret's side and placed myself on the barstool next to him. "You're right. She's such a careful person. I bet she would've stayed here until we came back while Cid went back home."

"True," Barret's hand landed on my shoulder as he looked at me with a smile on his face. "Well, look, I'll go where no man's gone before…and do these dishes for ya. You go and get yourself some rest. You definitely look like you need it."

He jumped off of his seat and got behind the bar. I covered my mouth not to cough but to laugh quietly at the thought of Barret doing "women's work", with an apron to boot.

"I hear you laughin', Tifa!"

"Ugh…" I let out as the warmth of the sun hit upon my face. It had been a few days since I first caught the flu. I felt much better, but the thought of getting out of bed made my stomach do a back flip. I just didn't want to do it.

'I have to get up', I told myself. 'Work is calling me.'

My body rolled over so my feet could come over the side of the bed and fall onto the floor. The warmth of my slippers brought a nice feeling to my conscious.

'Uh oh. Here it comes.'

My eyes closed as a sharp sneeze exploded from my lips. When I lifted my eyelids, the sun shining from the window into my eyes made me turn away. I pulled at the collar of my shirt that was a little damp from sweat.

"I can't go back to sleep. I have to get cleaned up and get the place ready for business."

"Tifa, you're awake."

I turned to see the blonde man's admirable figure standing in the doorway. With his arms crossed, his glowing Mako eyes directed their almost hypnotizing gaze into mine.

My head turned away from him and was facing the bedroom window. "Cloud, what are you doing here?" I said as I sniffed a few times afterward.

He kept his composure and took several steps in the room. I noticed his eyes move everywhere, as if he had never been in my room before; but he has. And no, not for some reasons you might have thought of. Get your mind out of the gutter.

"I thought you had deliveries to carry out today?" I asked, but received silence as my answer. Was he even listening to me?

His warm aura let me know he was close by. I kept my head turned away from him. I couldn't let him see my face. My God, it was so puffy.

"I finished the deliveries this morning," He said. The bed on my side dipped and I almost tipped over. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught his straight face looking at me. My hand shot up to feel the side of my face. My cheeks were warm and almost tingly. I hoped that I wasn't blushing. Not at a moment like this.

However, I caved in and faced Cloud. I saw that he had a brown paper bag clutched in his gloved hand. "Cloud, you shouldn't get too close. You might get sick."

Cloud gave his usual trademark nod and placed the bag in my lap. The medicine bottle didn't feel that heavy. That was one positive about it.

"I'll be fine. That bag has the other medicine the doctor prescribed for you to take. I picked it up from the pharmacy this morning."

A few laughs flew from my lips. "Great. Now I can mix the two medicines together and make Flu cocktail."

Cloud shook his head. My face became completely serious as Cloud continued to look at me with that look. Was it something I said?

"At least you'll survive, Tifa. Over the past few months, a thousand people have died from the Chocobo Flu. They announced yesterday that the Chocobo Flu is a pandemic. It's serious."

"Wow…"

Cloud stood up and turned to face me. The sun made the front of his body appear darker than it really was. I shivered a little when I felt his hand rest on my left shoulder for a few seconds, along with…a smile?

"I'll be downstairs."

I could feel my face blush beyond my control. "Okay Cloud."

Before I knew it, he was gone and I was in the bedroom by myself. I looked at the alarm clock and freaked out.

"Oh my God! I've got to hurry!"

It was 11:25 am and I was 25 minutes late. I ran as fast as my legs could take me into the bathroom to freshen up. Going down the stairs to the front door, my heart was beating faster than a tired man with hypertension. As I hit the last step, two men were at the table nearby eating. To my right, a woman at the bar was content with her shot glass that she took a quick gulp of.

I turned from side to side. I couldn't believe this. People were already all over the place drinking and having fun. But how did they get in? "Wha…what's going on? How did…but what about-!"

"You're welcome, Tifa."

I turned to see who the voice belonged to. As soon as I saw his face, I couldn't believe it. It was… "Cloud. Thank you."

"Sit down." He said as he walked behind the counter. He placed a clean glass before him.

"Okay," I said with a smile. Sitting next to the older woman, I guess she saw me smile and gave me one in return. I nodded at her and looked back into Cloud's eyes.

"How about…something to drink?"

"Cloud, I don't feel like-"

'Wait a minute…' I thought. This seems so familiar. Wait…if I remember it correctly, I'm supposed to say…

"I mean, give me something hard."

Cloud's little smile he gave before he went to go fix my drink made me giggle. However, I did my best to keep a straight face. The smile that remained on my face gave me away. But wait…I can't have alcohol with my medicine. However, I sighed with relief as the glass Cloud handed to me was one filled with orange juice. I laughed some more before I took a few gulps of juice.

As I sat my glass down, I closed my eyes and grinned. This day turned out to be better than I thought.

'Thank you, Cloud…Thank you for curing me of my Chocobo Flu Blues.'

The End!