Title: Invoice
Author: NotebookPaper
Rating: K
Pairing: CloudxTifa
Notes: This comes to you as I am posting the Prologue to a Final Fantasy VII and VIII Crossover. It is titled What Use Brings. I wanted to post this before starting What Use Brings, but somehow I ended up planning and working on both at the same time. I will probably look back at this and edit it once more in the future, perhaps add more, but for now I am happy with this. I will say that I can see how working on the two in such a short time as I have – a whole four days with the multi-chapter planning of What Use Brings – the content of this might have suffered, but I feel I have done my one-shots justice, as you may see in the rest of my overly-long note…
(Rated T?) This has to be the fastest one-shot I've ever written! The whole thing poured out of my fingers! I've always been comfortable with CloTi, but for some reason inspiration never struck. I own that up to the fact that I think they just ARE. CloTi, that is. I see no reason for explanation, and thus no fan fiction. I'm starting to think I love Zerith more, but I still feel the need to explain them. CloTi will always be a comfort zone for me. Pairing skirmishes and romance aside, there's an understanding between the two I believe only immature people, who can't look past the fact that Tifa has boobs, don't understand. Sometimes I hate Square for that single aspect in character design, but in reality there's nothing I'd change about Tifa. Not even her personality during childhood. We all make mistakes, and she's made up for them ten-fold.
Once again, I've written from a male perspective. Cloud's in particular. Why do I keep doing that? Oh well. I believe I've stated for loyal readers that CC and PostAC Cloud and I have a pretty good relationship. I still like to make fun of him; like my opening? x3
Disclaimer: I do not own Johnny, Denzel, Marlene, Tifa or Cloud. If I did, I'd allow them all to just be happy. Oh, I don't own Angeal either. XDD (Check out Stray to get the joke.)
It wasn't his specialty, but Cloud was rather good at driving a semi. Slowly he was edging away from the motorcycle that was once the staple for the work he had done, for as Edge continued to grow so did his livelihood. At first, he had feared the bouts of motion sickness, but he found early on that as the driver he was more in tune with how the vehicle moved. He retched once, but it had been his own fault; over-preparation for the event of puking had made an embarrassing lesson for him, but afterwards the semi and he got along fine when he had the chance to use it. At times it was inconvenient for new customers, but with the price of fuel and the amount of work he earned on top of the money they donated and put into the bar, he could only use the semi three days a week. His best customers, however, were loyal ones.
As Cloud handed him the last box from the truck, not requiring a dolly, Johnny whistled. "For a moment I thought you were going to give me more than I ordered. So much in the truck... How many bars are in Edge now?"
"A couple." There were a few that popped up here and there as more residences and streets became complete, but Cloud didn't deliver to any of them. He knew Johnny wanted to ask, and he took a smug amount of pride in the obliviousness of Tifa's competitor.
"Ah, you must be making good business on them. Anyone I should scout?"
Cloud shrugged as Johnny signed his invoice, the red head balancing the box he'd been given on his knee as he scrawled over it. Cloud took the paper back as Johnny's box started to slip, grasping a corner to keep it from falling and to help the man find his equilibrium. As he signed using a fence post between them, Cloud watched covertly as Johnny attempted to shift the box over to his side instead of using both hands. The blond ripped his yellow copy of the invoice out and handed the white one back to Johnny after shaking his hand. "I don't know any of them. This is all going back to 7th Heaven," he said simply as he pointed over his shoulder and spun on his heel to get back in the semi.
He could just make out the sound of a horrified cry, and looked in his review mirror to see that Johnny had dropped his box, which had the word "FRAGILE" written in bold letters down the side. The roar of the semi drowned out the stream of whined curses, but Cloud had his invoice. It wasn't his problem.
Dust didn't rise behind the semi as it might have once. The last year had seen the completion of more pavement and foundation for housing, the introduction of which all but obliterated the dust outside Edge. The smoother roads shortened the time it once took him to push the huge vehicle into Edge, around sandy hills and through enormous ditches. Even though there was still caked dirt around the semi wheels from outside the humid port city where he picked up his delivery goods, it was good to get home so quickly. With the little luxury he was always on time.
"You're late."
Even if she always said he wasn't.
A pleasant smirk crossed Cloud's face at the look of Tifa standing outside her bar with her hands on her hips, barely restraining a smile. A clipboard was already in her hand.
"Denzel and Marlene are already eating, and I bet you haven't. Have you?"
Cloud walked around the back of the semi, still smirking, and drew up the back door. "Nope."
As Cloud pulled out his dolly, pulling up the handle out of its compact state, Tifa waited behind for him to turn around. When he did, her arms wove around his neck. "I missed you while you were gone."
One gloved hand slipped around her waist and pulled her close. "I missed you too." Tifa's deep red eyes sparkled. The clipboard hid their faces from any passersby for a moment, before they actually started unloading.
As they brought in the first load, Cloud carried the box with the invoice just inside and set it down in the shadow of the doorway, cutting the paper free to take to the woman with the clipboard. She grinned sweetly at him, then glared and yanked it from his hands in mock anger, sighing and shaking her head as if he was late in handing it to her. She giggled when she couldn't hold the expression anymore and hugged him again.
After the small extension to their greeting, Cloud grabbed a second dolly Tifa had bought for herself almost three years ago and joined her in bringing boxes inside until there was enough for her to start taking inventory. At that point, Cloud was able to use both dollies with the arm and leg strength that once wielded the now unused Buster Sword. He was still of a strong sort, yet there was a thin bit of soft flesh coating the top of his muscular body by now. It didn't lend him a weak appearance, but rather lent to the presence of a "Man of the House." Cloud had always been lean in a fit sort of way, but in a life now accustomed to hugs and friendly handshakes the softness was more an invitation to be friends, not a warning to stay away. He'd never let it get out of hand, but the addition of the small bit of fat was something he wore with an inner sense of pride; after all that had happened, he was sure he and every one of his friends had earned the right to slack a little.
As he brought in the last load of boxes, wines by the sound of it, he could already see Tifa's eyebrows arch in concern. He stood off to the side and crossed his arms, watching as she deftly, hastily, checked the last of the boxes he'd brought in.
"Huh. I've never had a problem from the company before…" She bit her lip, scanning her invoice while her foot tapped on the tiled floor. "You sure you didn't forget anything?"
Cloud glanced out the door at his semi, the box in the shadow of the doorway momentarily distracting him. He looked back at Tifa, whose red eyes were on the paper, flickering to boxes in a walk-in fridge and a newly installed pantry behind the bar. She hadn't noticed. It was a Tuesday. Business wasn't really good during the day on Tuesdays.
"I'm sure."
"Well, I guess I have to file a complaint against our delivery service and the shipping company. That'll be the first strike against us. Good thing it comes from us, I guess." She sighed. "Suppose I'll spend the afternoon on hold…"
As she turned towards the boxes, ready to unpack them, Cloud waited a suitable amount of time to pass to make it look like he was thinking about something.
"Hey, Tifa." She looked up at him where she had squatted down to lift a box of merlot from the floor to take to the pantry. "Why don't you hold off on unpacking everything completely? I'll go fill up the semi, park it, and then I'll take you with me to the shipping office on Fenrir. You can make your complaint there when I drop off my invoices for their records."
Tifa stood up and wrung her hands, forgetting that for Cloud to merely drop off an invoice it had to be complete. With her signature. "Isn't that a little far for me to go, Cloud? What about the bar? And the kids?"
"Takes a bit to fill the semi, and you don't have any customers right now. Just get everything in the fridge that needs to and spend the rest of the morning with Denzel and Marlene before they run off to school. We'll be back before they get back. I don't have to leave for a delivery until five."
"I could put a sign up. Maybe I won't even open until three." Suddenly liking the idea, she laughed and left the clipboard with the invoice on the bar, ripping a piece of a box top off and grabbing a black marker to make a sign. "Go get the semi filled! Denzel and Marlene leave in forty-five!"
She was gorgeous when she was happy. Cloud smirked, watching her as she focused on her sign for a moment before walking past the box by the door to do her bidding.
He came back in time to mess up Denzel's hair and to get a big hug around the waist from Marlene. When she did things like that he remembered when she once shied away from him when giving her a flower. It was one of the signs that he was old; he was pitifully nostalgic enough to grin like an idiot at times. It was a welcome habit when at one point he never thought he'd grin again.
When the kids were down the street, he heard Tifa's voice pleasantly boom, "Taa-daa!" and he turned around to see the cardboard sign on the door saying "7th Heaven will Resume Operation at 3:00pm. We Apologize for the Inconvenience." The final part of the sign seemed scrawled hastily, whereas the first was bolded and neat.
"Nice artwork."
"Of course." She bowed, clearly happy with herself, or at least their situation despite the circumstances.
They walked around back and hopped on the Fenrir, the roar of its engines familiar, though the bike itself lacked the weight of the Fusion Swords, which had been out of use since Cloud ceased sword practice some months ago. Tifa's weight behind him was a welcome addition, her arms around his waist warm and comforting, the embrace all but banishing the need of any other addition to the bike. He revved the engine once before they were off. Tifa's chin was on his shoulder some moments later. She had a habit of giggling as she shook her hair out of her joy-filled face whenever they started the rides they took together. With her schedule, those rides were sometimes few and far between, but perhaps that was one reason she enjoyed it so much. Perhaps it was one reason he did as well.
"They're almost done with the construction on the school playground," she said to him over the sound of the wind rushing past them. "Denzel's almost too old for it, but everyone's looking forward to it."
"Isn't Rufus sponsoring a picnic for the completion of the school when it's finished?"
It was a topic that made Tifa giggle. "Yeah! Cid and Shera are going to bring their kids up to visit that weekend. Yuffie's going to come too since it will probably be the last time she can before her official coronation."
"She'll have to bring more of the candy she's sponsoring."
"Cloud, I keep telling you they carry it at the shop down the street from Heaven."
"I know." The two of them leaned into a tight turn. "The ones from Wutai look clearer. Take longer too. And they have the Support ones." His voice was completely serious while explaining.
"…Did you eat any candy after you left Nibelhiem?"
"…Was sick half the time." He hugged the Fenrir with his thighs tight enough for Tifa to get the hint. "Blue puke might have matched the uniform, but…"
"No more explanation. You can indulge in Wutai's Candy!Materia all you want."
"Thank you."
The rest of the ride was full of such conversation until they caught up with what had transpired in the last couple days during Cloud's trip to pick up deliveries. Nothing of horrible merit had occurred, and both were fine with that. When their conversation settled down, Tifa rested the side of her head against Cloud's back. He knew she could hear his heartbeat over the noise through the shirt he wore when her arms hugged him the tiniest bit tighter, and then relaxed again. She eventually had to sit up when the road gave way to speed bumps. On the last two she made an inane, exaggerated noise to punctuate each bump, which made them both laugh for a time before the bike was allowed to settle in a parking space and Cloud silenced the engines. Tifa shook herself as they walked into the shipping office, her hair impeccable even after the ride.
"Hey, Cloud." The clerk at the front desk spoke familiarly, with a name tag displaying the name Daniel in bold letters. "And who is this you've brought me? I didn't ask for any deliveries." His demeanor was disarming, but even though Tifa smiled at the man, Cloud was a little sorry for what Daniel was about to go through.
"Hello, Daniel. I'm Tifa Lockhart." Cloud detected the slightest wince when the woman shook his hand. It wasn't an aggressive shake, but Daniel hadn't expected Tifa's grip to have so much… grip. "Co-owner of the Strife Delivery Service. We had a problem with our shipment this week…"
She explained it to him, and Daniel listened raptly. He was a good man, Cloud knew. For a moment, Tifa might have made him sweat, but after it was clear that she wouldn't engage in the blame game, that she was all business, he was able to feed off the vibe and settle into much the same disposition. When Cloud's name was mentioned, the clerk looked up at him. For perhaps the first time in his life, Cloud winked. The other man's eyebrows rose, but he caught on quickly, and smiled as he listened to Tifa continue. Daniel breathed deep, but quick, after Tifa finished her explanation. He turned to the computer behind his desk and motioned Tifa behind the counter with him. "First I'd like to apologize for the inconvenience coming here has cost you, Ms. Lockhart." Tifa nodded, a faint smile on her lips. "Now, might I point out that during your time working with us, the Strife Delivery Service has had no problems in delivering what is expected of them?"
"Of course not."
Daniel nodded. "In fact, there have been two times where our intercontinental establishment has shorted an order, to the chagrin of your customers."
Tifa nodded.
"However, during these times, your delivery boy, Mr. Strife" – Daniel motioned to him and Cloud nodded solemnly – "came to the office first to take care of the mess. As you can see on the invoice, if I may" – Tifa handed him the clipboard and looked over his shoulder – "your delivery boy has checked every item for an accurate delivery, in which case we are not to blame."
Tifa nodded. "Yes, I have thought of that, but there is no point between here and the port where Cloud might have lost it."
"You're more than likely correct, given the delivery to the outskirts of Edge to a Mr. Johnny were found pristine, I assume?" Cloud handed him the invoice, which Tifa looked at with a small amount of smug approval; the list was shorter than hers. "No doubt in his haste to get home, Mr. Strife assumed our inventory was correct." Daniel returned Cloud's earlier wink. "In which case, we truly are to blame, but because of Mr. Strife's there is no way to prove that. We can still find the item for you with a small finder's fee."
Tifa looked up, a bit suspicious. "How small?"
"200 gil." Tifa pouted, but Daniel forestalled any complaints. "However, you do not have to do this if you simply overlook the mistake."
"That seems shady, Daniel. The crate was worth more than 200 gil and another mark on your record." Tifa walked back around front of the clerks counter.
"Hnm." Daniel looked at Cloud, who seemed a little amused, but otherwise impassive. "Then might you check yourself once more. We're all human and make mistakes. Perhaps you missed something?" Tifa raised an eyebrow at him, getting a little steamed, but oddly disarmed by his easy demeanor; it was like he wasn't dealing with an unsatisfied customer. She was almost comfortable with the situation, especially since Cloud seemed so at ease. "Can you visualize where your boxes are? You might say it out loud."
She sighed. "Well, I bought new decanters for decoration. I left them behind the bar…" She took to pacing in front of the counter, looking at the clipboard with one arm crossed over her abdomen. Cloud cherished the way she slowly started waving the clipboard up and down as she read it, and how halfway through she started talking passed the teeth that gently bit her worried lip. Her eyebrows formed the same arch from earlier when she came to the merlot. "Those are in the pantry." She whirled around to look at both men, her arms in the air then back at her sides. "Still missing the Costa Del Sol Coolers."
Cloud chuckled inwardly. How appropriate that Tifa, Shelke and Shera's favorite shared drinks would be in the box she thought was missing. Daniel "hnmmed" and was about to speak, before Cloud cleared his throat and Tifa looked at him. "Tifa? Did you count the box with the invoice?"
"Wha…?" Tifa blinked, caught off guard as she looked back down at the list. "Wait… Where was it?"
"By the front door."
After Tifa signed her name and took her copy of the invoice, apologizing to Daniel who didn't really seem to mind on a Tuesday, they left. For a bit, Tifa was rather mad at herself, wondering how she could be so narrow-sighted as to miss a box right under her nose. Her self-reproach lasted for all of ten minutes before she settled her head back down on Cloud's back. "Feel so silly," she stated eventually.
"You don't seem so upset."
"Really?" He could feel Tifa's chin raise before it was up on his shoulder. "How can you tell?"
"It's in your voice. You don't really feel too bad about this."
Her mouth opened to protest, but then she settled back to watch as the world rushed by her while Cloud's soft tresses tickled the side of her face. She grinned. "You're right. It was nice to just get out for a bit. I miss the rides when you're gone."
"You're welcome."
Tifa almost said a mere thank you in return when the edge to his voice caught her attention. He almost sounded like he was about to laugh, proud of himself for one reason or another. She gasped in her mirth when she realized why.
"Cloud! You did that on purpose! What a mean trick." She hugged him tight.
"Seems like you'll get over it."
"Ahaha! And how can you tell that?"
He reveled in the way she giggled and pressed her lips to his shoulder.
"Same as before; it's in your voice."
Witty, yes?
If you don't want to review, why not read my first chapter fan fiction, What Use Brings? Yay, shameless advertising! 8D