Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and its compilation are the creations of Square Enix, not mine.
Summary: Funny, he did not know the bar had this many tables.
Author's notes: Written for Livejournal community Spring Kinkfest, prompt: October 25 - Final Fantasy VII, Cloud/Tifa: Companionship - as long as he's sticking around, he might as well help out.
Morning Non-Ritual
by monitor screen
-o-
The bar was empty when he came back from an urgent delivery. The sky had barely lit, and all was quiet. Cloud closed the door carefully behind him, leaving the room once again in shadows. None of the morning rays had made it through the shutters yet.
He took in the scattered glasses and disorderly chairs, the darkness no hinder to his enhanced sight. It seemed Tifa had had a tough night, to call it a day before cleaning up this mess. Gently, he started picking up the glasses and carried them to the sink, sliding stools and chairs back into place as he went.
Funny, he did not know the bar had this many tables.
When he was done, he wetted the cloth he found on the counter and attacked the more obvious smudges on wood. He almost tripped on a stray bottle once, the thing wedged between two chairs and thus escaped his notice. After catching himself, he held his breathe and listened, checking if he might have woken someone - all was still quiet. Good.
The room had gone up several hues by the time he was half-way through with the glasses. Putting another glass aside to dry, Cloud was caught momentarily by the play of light in a far corner. Somehow that particular slant of gold managed to make the ordinary tables and seats surreal, and he stared at them, transfixed. These were not the columns and flowers in the church, glorious in dewy glow in the mornings; but they were, in their own way, beautiful with a moving quality, reassuring.
Light pads of feet broke him out of his reverie. Tifa looked surprised to see him, but offered a bleary smile nonetheless. She came beside him, leaning slightly on the counter, and watched Cloud scrubbed at a more sticky glass. When he finally rinsed it
with satisfaction and made to set it aside, she sighed with wry affection, "You don't have to do this, Cloud."
He thought about saying that it's no trouble, really, he didn't mind. He thought about saying that she could use the help, and he's around. He thought about saying that it's okay not to do everything herself, that they're there for each other... And then he remembered how in that night, sick with worry for the kids and Geostigma, he had said exactly the opposite.
He remembered what he had said later that night, too. I'm going to try.
And so Cloud only smirked, and said with a playful air, "I thought I'd better start earning my keep, lest you kick me out, you know?"
He pretended not to see the relief in Tifa's eyes.
-o-