I woke, hearing faint thumps against the hard wood. I thought I was just hearing things, but stopped breathing just to make sure.
Thump.
I slung my feet over the side of my bed, still listening cautiously.
Thump.
'Marlene! Denzel!' I feared for the children, and crept to the door.
"Stop right there!"
I revealed a very startled Cloud. He was fully dressed, sword in hand, and had a guilty look on his face. I just looked him over. It was only when his back was turned to me that the realization of what exactly he had in mind hit. I ran, taking a firm hold of his elbow.
"You can't leave us again!"
"Tifa, you'll wake the kids."
"You can't!" I insisted, my vision blurring. My throat tightened, my stomach churned, my knees felt like jelly. I knew unless I could stop him, I'd collapse the way I had last time he left me. Left us.
"I have to. Sephiroth is still out there."
"Last time you fought him, you were almost killed! That shoulder still gives you pains! Please, don't abandon us again!"
Cloud flinched, as if my reminder of the battle we had recently, and barely, won stung the wound under the leather of his shirt, still bandaged and under watch by the whole house.
"I have to. If I don't stop him, who will?"
"Someone else!"
"Tifa, let go!"
That was the first time he had raised his voice to me in anger. I released his arm, and he turned his back on me. He was down the stairs before I could move. Just as I caught up, we were outside. I ran in front of him, and grabbed the handle bars of his motorcycle. I glared up at him. My throat was tighter, and the tears had welled and spilled. My cheeks stung from the cold as my tears dropped from my chin, followed by others.
"I won't let you go!"
"Tifa-"
"The only reason you came back was because a fight had you bedridden! If you go away now, you might never come back! Think of Marlene! Think of Denzel! He needs a father!"
"Tifa-"
"Say something other than 'Tifa'! I'm not letting you go! No one said they were ready for you to go!"
"Enough, Tifa." His voice was not angry, was not frustrated. His voice was soft, kind. A sad whisper. I opened my eyes. Any way you looked at him, he looked like the leaving was paining him almost as much as me. Only, he didn't show it like me. He took my face in his hands, wiping away the tears.
"I'm not abandoning you." he whispered. I looked up into his eyes. They looked full of tears, as mine had been once. But if they were, he wasn't letting anything show. "I promise I'll come back. Nothing, not even death, will have me break that promise."
"Words." I tried to sound angry, but my throat was so tight, it felt not even a toothpick could get down. It came as a whisper. Cloud looked my face over for what felt like the longest of time, and then pulled me up to press his lips against mine. I blinked, surprised, but closed my eyes. He tasted like mint; had he brushed his teeth before trying to leave? When he let me go, my throat was tighter. Not even air felt like it could get through. Cloud once again examined my face.
"Is that a better promise?"
I could only nod before crying out and wrapping myself around his waist. Cloud put a hand on my back, and the other on the back of my head.
"I'll return soon. Keep the lights on for me."
He released me, and swung his leg over his bike. I smiled at him, tears fresh and new. Cloud looked up, catching me wiping at my eyes. He gave me the smallest smile.
"I'll be thinking of you." He hit the gas, and was gone. Something wet hit me between the eyes. I put my finger up, catching the liquid, and tasted it. I recoiled at the salty flavor, my tongue being too sensitive for the strong taste. I smiled, then screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Come home soon! You've taken my heart with you!!"