"Hello? This is the Strife Delivery Service, you name it we deliver," said Marlene, answering the phone at the 7th Heaven office. 'Another customer,' she thought to herself, grabbing a pen and paper to write down anything.
"A delivery to Junon? All right, I'll tell the boss and she'll get back to you when she can. Thank you," Marlene hung up the phone and ran downstairs to the bar to where 'the boss' was.
Tifa Lockhart was at the counter, polishing it when she felt a pat on her back. She stopped, taking a second to wipe the sweat from her brow and looked at the little girl beside her, "Who was that Marlene?"
Marlene held up a piece of paper, an address and item list on it, "There's a man in Junon, he wants a few things brought to him. Says he'll send a check." The girl handed it to her friend, and Tifa looked at it.
'Gyshal greens, a bottle of ale...and a special chocobo statue?' The small list seemed to confuse the woman, but in the end it was an order that the service had to deliver, even if it sounded like a weird request. She put the note in her pocket and smiled at Marlene, "Thanks Marlene, keep telling me about any calls okay?"
The little girl smiled, and gave a salute, "I'll keep you posted boss!" She then turned and ran back up the stairs, almost tripping as she went. Tifa gave a giggle, "kids." She then turned her attention back to the counter, taking the cloth in her hand and began to polish it again. She was lightly humming to herself as she finished her little chore. Completing that task, she picked up the bar's phone on the wall, and dialed a number.
The signal wasn't busy, and it was calling...
Calling...
Calling...
Calling...
A female operator's voice then came up, "The number you are calling is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the sound of the tone."
A small bell sound was heard, and Tifa began, "There's a man in Junon who needs a delivery done. Please look into it. His address is-" Tifa moved a strand of her long black hair out of her face as she listed off the numbers as fast as she could. When that was done, she continued, "He says it can be done anytime in the next few days. Good luck with it. But, please call me back, okay Cloud?" And the message stopped, out of time.
Giving a sigh, Tifa hung up the phone. 'He never answers...' She thought, heading to the second floor to her room. She closed the door and took off the black vest she wore, tossing it to the side before planting her face in the pillow on her bed. Her body was tired, but her mind wandered to the man named Cloud. That guy was always out and about, doing errands. He rarely spent any time with the kids, or Tifa for that matter. Not that she didn't like it, he did have things to do, but if he would just return her calls every now and then... Tifa's mind started to wander off, and she began to fall asleep when a knock was heard on her door. She sat up slowly, "come in."
The door opened, and in came a little girl with brown hair in two pigtails, and carrying a small moogle doll in her arms. She wore a dark blue t-shirt and light blue jeans with flip-flops. She ran to Tifa's side of the bed. "You're not going to bed so early, are you Tifa?"
The woman shook her head, "No Emma, I'm just a bit tired, that's all." Emma Tribal was the youngest sister of one of Tifa's friends. The little girl was a cute one, always cheering you up whenever you were down, a trait she shared with her brother.
The girl was a friend with Marlene and Denzel as well, so that made the two of them happy. It also made Tifa happy, since there was more life around the place whenever the kids were happy. With Barret out of town, and Cloud away, she did get a bit lonely. Something she hoped would change with time...
'Speaking of Cloud...' Tifa picked up the phone near her bed and dialed his number. But what she got was the same result as before: no answer.
Tifa put the phone down, and then lay back down on her bed, giving a sigh of disappointment. Emma looked at her, "You okay Tifa?"
The woman nodded weakly, but Emma sat on the bed, "You're a poor liar right now."
"Let me guess, boy trouble right?"
The fact that Tifa looked away gave Emma the answer she needed to know. "Hasn't been answering your calls?"
'She's a mind-reader in an 8 year old's body.' Tifa nodded again, "But I guess its because he's busy."
Emma shook her head, "But he NEVER seems to return them, right? You'd think sooner or later he'd do so, right? What is he so scared of?"
"Its not that he's scared-"
"But he makes you worry right? No man should make his woman worry,"
Tifa looked at her, "where'd you learn that?"
"Brother told me. He said, 'that spikey-haired goofball should learn: never make a lady worry, lest he regrets it later,' Emma said, imitating her brother's voice. She almost got it too.
Tifa smiled, "Maybe your brother is right..."
"If he isn't, then you're in trouble. But I'll give you advice: don't worry yourself to death. He'll call back, I'm sure of it," Emma said. She gave a small gasp then, holding her moogle doll to her ear. "Mog asks that you cheer up, okay?"
The woman smiled, then nodded, "I'll try, okay Mog?" Emma made the doll nod, and she nodded too in approval, before running out of the room.
Tifa laid back down, and stared at the ceiling, 'Maybe I do worry too much...but, I suppose that happens when the one you love most is so far away...' She closed her eyes; Cloud's image was in her mind. From the days in their hometown, to the Nibelheim incident, to the days in Midgar, and then just a few weeks ago during the whole Kadaj thing. He was there for her then, she helped him as well, and at times she felt it was more than right whenever they were together. 'It almost felt like...heaven.'
The phone next to her started to ring. Tifa reached for the phone without getting up, and groggily said 'hello'.
"Tifa?"
Her eyes shot open when she heard Cloud's voice on the other end of the line. "Cloud?"
His voice was calm despite Tifa's surprised response to him returning her call from a while ago. "Is everything okay?" He even had a touch of concern in his voice.
Tifa shook her head, "I-I'm alright. You got my calls earlier, right?" Her heart was racing, 'he called me...'
"I was near Ft. Condor when I got to my phone. Reception is terrible out here so I had to drive to Junon in order to call. But I did get the call. You're okay though, right?"
Tifa nodded physically, then she answered, "yeah..." There was so much she wanted to talk about to him, it may be the last time in awhile before she talked to him again.
Cloud went on to ask about how Marlene and Denzel were doing, and he sounded okay when Tifa replied that they were doing fine. "But Cloud, when are you coming home?" Tifa waited rather impatiently for his answer.
Cloud seemed to pause for a split second, "Soon."
Tifa gave a sigh of relief, "Okay then...I'll see you then."
"I can't wait. See you later Tifa."
After he hung up, Tifa put the phone down and sat on the bed, happy to know that Cloud was finally coming home. To Marlene and Denzel. To her.
The hours went well into the night, and Tifa waited at the door at the bar, awaiting the arrival of Cloud. She was leaning on the doorframe, she was slightly cold from the outside air. It occasionally sent shivers up her spine. Since it was so late she was in her nightclothes, which weren't the best to wear in the cold either.
All she wore was a nightgown, one she had received from Cloud for her birthday years ago. A simple dark blue gown with nice designs along the rims. She wore it almost every night, with him in mind.
The woman was the only one up at this hour, as she had sent the kids to bed, but she had a small feeling someone was watching her. Of course, there might be a spectator or more on the steps watching her, hoping to see something. But she didn't think about that at the moment. She was listening for that familiar roar...the roar of Fenrir. She didn't need to wait long either.
The sound could be heard from a ways away, and soon, the vehicle came to a stop in front of the bar. She could see, even in the deep black of the night, that Cloud was there.
As he took off the goggles off his head, Cloud looked at Tifa, and gave a small smile. He felt a bit ashamed of himself while he watched her from his bike. The poor woman had, without a doubt been waiting for him for a while, in the cold, in her nightclothes. She obviously didn't care though, all she cared about was for him to come home.
Cloud got off his bike and, slowly at first, walked to Tifa. He didn't take his eyes off hers as he walked. Tifa's heart was beating fast, and she felt weak in the knees. And once Cloud stood in front of her, she lost all sense of patience she had been holding in. She embraced him, wrapping her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, a tear coming from her eye. Cloud reacted as calmly as he ever did, putting his arms around Tifa, and he smiled, "Sorry to make you worry, but I am here now."
And Tifa didn't want it any other way.