Chapter One:
In My Time of Need
A/N: I picked one of my favorite metal songs by Opeth as the title of this chapter and it's a coincidence that it kind of fits the theme of what I'm writing about...but yeah, please R&R, let me know your thoughts/opinions/suggestions of this chapter, as it's my first stab at a CloTi fic, let alone my first try at a Final Fantasy VII (Post AC) fic...thanks.
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Slowly opening her light amber eyes, Tifa Lockhart felt the warm, soft covers protecting her body from the cold air. Lightly sighing between her slightly opened lips, she stood up and began making her bed, double checking the sheets for any unwanted creases and making sure the comforter was not hanging over more on one side than the other. Only clothed in her large, black T-shirt and ankle socks she threw on at the last minute the night before, with her undergarments underneath the shirt of course, Tifa shivered a little as she noticed that the heater was not on and scowled under her breath.
(Why does Cloud keep changing the temperature on the heater to a lower setting late at night? My God, what is he, a polar bear? I keep telling him to keep it on 71 degrees but noooooooooo, he just HAS to sett the temperature to the low 60's...I hope Marlene & Denzel aren't freezing to death from the air...I'll check on them after I brush my teeth, can't have anyone thinking about my breath instead of me now can I?)
After doing so, Tifa quickly squeezed into her pair of black pajama pants and matching slippers so as to not appear almost naked in case others were walking around 7th Heaven. Quietly and slowly, Tifa closed her bedroom door and began stepping down the hallway to Denzel and Marlene's room, with the expectation of the two either sleeping soundly or at least getting ready for the last day for going to winter camp before New Year's Day.
Tifa smiled a little, happy to see them having a good time not just at school but also at 7th Heaven, their bar/home. It had been a few months since having to deal with Sephiroth, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz; not to mention the other monsters Tifa and the gang had to get rid of. For once, Tifa felt more relaxed than ever; she almost felt as if she were an ordinary citizen living in Edge, not a person who had helped save the world not once, but twice.
The martial artist also noticed Cloud opening himself up a little more, even though he still showed characteristics of an introverted personality. He was also doing less time with his delivery service, often commenting that it was putting a little stress on himself "having to deal with numerous deliveries every day", the number of customers increasing slowly but steadily.
Tifa stood in front of the children's bedroom door, listening for any noises first before knocking on the door.
"Marlene? Denzel? It's time to get ready to eat breakfast before the bus gets here!"
"..."
"..."
(Hmmm...I wonder where they went to? Maybe Cloud knows...but wherever it is, it must be warm...I don't blame them for leaving, I know I couldn't handle staying in this cold place any longer myself, especially with Cloud controlling the temperature around here...)
As she began to climb down the narrow stairway to the bar area, Tifa's nose quickly picked up a few familiar scents.
Bacon? Eggs? And...pancakes? But Marlene and Denzel can't cook yet, not at least without me watching them...no, it couldn't be?
Suddenly spotting the recognizable few tall, blond spikes rising from the top of the 23-year old male's head standing behind the kitchen counter with a spatula in his gloved hand, flipping a pancake over in the pan in front of him, Tifa almost chuckled in amazement, covering her mouth as she began to almost think in a 'no way this is happening' attitude. She had noticed that Marlene and Denzel were fully dressed and already ready to go, the both of them sitting at the counter, eating their breakfast that the man standing before her had prepared.
"Mr. Cloud Strife, this is unlike you! Cooking breakfast for us like this!"
"Good morning Teef. I know what you're thinking, but you were still asleep so I decided to cook breakfast this time...and I got Marlene and Denzel ready to go..."
"I see..."
"...His pancakes are great Tifa!" Marlene exclaimed with her mouth partially full, putting a dabble of syrup on her golden pancake. She began to cut it with her knife and fork exactly the way Tifa showed her, Denzel doing the same as he took a break to take a sip of his orange juice.
"Yep!" Denzel added as Marlene took a minute to hug Tifa and returned to her seat.
"But the bacon needs more work, it's a little hard."
"I heard that Marlene..."
"I'm just kidding Cloud, you know I like your food or I would've told you earlier!"
"I'm glad you took over for me Cloud, I was so tired from last night..." Tifa almost felt her face feeling warm and ready to blush, realizing that what she said had somewhat of a double meaning. She also felt a little embarrassed, being the only one not dressed to go outside.
"You're welcome Teef," Cloud turned the stove off, putting a few pancakes on a plate before handing them to his childhood friend. "I saw how busy the place was last night. But you deserve the few days off before and including New Year's."
"Yeah I need it, and I'm glad Barret will be able to pick up the children and babysit for us while we get the place ready for our reunion. Oh my God, Cloud, it was great seeing them for Christmas, we hadn't seen them in a while..." Tifa stopped herself, feeling that she was going off at the mouth. She poured only a little bit of syrup for herself, keeping to her steady diet and making sure she didn't go over her daily calories intake to maintain her weight.
"Yeah...I actually missed Barret calling me Spike...and Cid smoking his many cigarettes and complaining to Shera about his tea...also Vincent...even Yuffie too, even though we aren't really that close...but she can be quite a help at times..."
The sound of the bus' horn made the four realize that Marlene and Denzel had to leave for school. Giving a few hugs to Cloud and hugs and kisses to Tifa, the two children departed with their backpacks in hand to the school bus, saying their goodbyes before closing the front door. Noticing the silence humming in the air of 7th Heaven, the two adults stared at each other as if they were communicating with their minds through their eyes.
"Well..." Tifa got up on her tip-toes and began to slowly rise up and down, a habit she has had since childhood. "...for the next four days, we're here by ourselves Cloud...no customers to deal with for the both of us..."
"..."
"..."
"Teef..." Cloud broke the silence between the two of them.
"Yes?"
Cloud sat down behind the counter, directly facing Tifa and looking deeply into her eyes.
"We've known each other for a long time...and...I know that we've been through a lot together, ever since we were children. No matter what happened to either of us, I'd do my best to be there for you and protect you, I promised I would..." Cloud's Mako eyes widened a little at 'I promised' as Tifa nodded to let him know she was listening, and she was indeed, knowing Cloud rarely had moments like these where he would express his feelings to anyone, let alone her. "So..."
"...Yes Cloud?" Tifa moved a few strands of hair away from her eye, thinking she had an idea of what Cloud was going to say.
"..."
"Cloud, you can tell me!"
"Well, I've been thinking for a while now and...lately...I've been talking to Aerith at the church and..."
The word 'Aerith' made Tifa a little uneasy, feeling her heart shudder and almost skip a beat. Feeling her face get longer, she looked away from the man's gaze, almost knowing that her eyes were about to let loose with tears.
(No wonder he's been so happy lately...cooking and all that...)
"Aerith huh...?"
"Yeah, bu-"
"Cloud, it's okay...you don't have to tell me anything else..." Tifa turned her body away from Cloud, not letting him see a tear begin to fall down her right cheek. She knew deep down in her heart there was someone else, but Aerith...? Tifa realized she had to face the music and accept Cloud's stance with Aerith. Tifa thought that Aerith and Zack had returned, but never had she thought that Aerith could've just been close friends with Zack and still had feelings for Cloud.
(I guess I thought wrong...)
"Teef..."
"Cloud! It's okay! I have nothing against you being with Aerith..." A few more tears began to flow faster down her face, Tifa trying as hard as she could not to sob out loud and hide the sadness in her now soft spoken voice. "If it makes you happy, then I feel happy for you too."
(Wow...Teef is very selfless...she's always been that way...)
"Tifa...you don't understa-"
"I DO CLOUD!" Tifa shouted, finally turned to face the man known as Cloud Strife. She could feel a bit of anger growing in her heart, even though she did not want to become angry at Cloud, always remembering all the wonderful things he's done for her as well as the rest of the group. "I DO understand! It's ALWAYS been about Aerith from the beginning, hasn't it?! Just admit it Cloud Strife, you love Aerith!"
"Teef..."
Her shout from the final 'Aerith' almost gave off an echo, her eyes still looking deeply into Cloud's. Various memories of herself and Cloud from childhood to the current day began to fly through her head, almost making her explode with a loud cry of sadness. Cloud began to walk over to Tifa's sobbing figure, only a few inches away from her face, a small smile forming on his lips.
"No...what I was trying to say was..." Cloud put a hand lightly on the side of Tifa's face, his voice remaining low and calm as he felt it was time to let out the final conclusion his feelings had reached.
"I love YOU, Tifa."