Commemoration
When: After ACC. Like, right after. Cloud still hasn't showered, its gross and its starting to scare Marlene. Er, I mean it takes place about a week after ACC.
What: Reeve has hosted a rally to pay tribute to all of AVALANCHE, and the crew isn't entirely pleased that they have to go out in front of thousands of people on such short notice. Just before the rally starts, Cloud disappears...
Warnings: Mild swearing.
Misc.: Starts with everyone, ends as Cloti fluff.
Cloud was gone.
He had left earlier that day with a small smile and an absent-minded wave, his lips mumbling something about being back later that night.
But here Tifa stood, alone, without Cloud in sight. Lost in her thoughts, Tifa continually clenched her fists tighter and tighter to let off some steam. When she saw that man, she'd hit him. Simple as that.
The sound of heavy footfalls slipped into her mind, and with a vicious glare, she looked towards the source. With hands spread wide, Cid showed he meant no harm. "Reeve can't stall anymore, that damn fool's sweating like a pig out there, we gotta help him out. Or, we should, now that I've had my fill of watching him flounder."
Tifa sighed in resignation, maybe she shouldn't be mad at Cloud after all, none of them wanted to be here, he was just the only one smart enough to stay away. Smiling apologetically at Cid, Tifa walked towards him, "I guess you're right." She stopped to consider Cid's reaction, before giving up and asking him anyway, "Still no sign of Cloud?"
Cid shook his head, "Nothing. Makes me wish I had I bike to run off on too."
Tifa laughed without humour, walking slowly ahead until she met the others in the dark recesses of stage left. "Hey everyone, sorry for the wait."
Barret scowled, "I appreciated it actually. You sure you don't have anything else to do? We can wait."
Tifa looked beyond Barret at Reeve out on the illuminated stage. His skin gleamed with nervous sweat underneath the bright stage lights, yet he smiled at the massive crowd as if nothing were wrong. Every now and then, he'd glance in the direction of the rest of AVALANCHE, his eyes pleading for some help.
Still, no body moved forward.
Yuffie, anxiously bouncing on the spot, broke the silence. "Come ON guys! How often do we get an entire event for ourselves? We should be thankful Reeve organized this rally, right? We're heroes, let's go get our respect and admiration already!"
Barret glared at her, causing her to shrink back, "You go out then, leave us out of it."
Yuffie pouted, "Well, I… I don't want to go out alone, alright? You guys helped me kill Sephiroth again and cure Geostigma, I'd feel wrong taking all the credit. I'll just take most of it."
Nanaki tilted his head at this, "But… Cloud fought Sephiroth alone, and it was Aerith who cured the Geostigma. All of us just helped them."
Barret, Yuffie, and Tifa all turned to glare at the fire-red animal. His tail flopped down against the floor as he nervously licked his chops, trying to turn their attention away. "Uh, nevermind."
"Goddamn, about time!" yelled Cid, looking over their heads. "Where the hell have you been?"
Cloud, looking none too pleased himself, was marching towards them with long strides. "Reeve said it'd be quick… Where is he?" he growled.
Startled by Cloud's anger, they all pointed at the lone man on stage. Mako eyes fixed on him, Cloud marched out of the darkness of the wings and into the light of the stage.
Reeve saw him coming, and despite the look of murder on the blond swordsman's face, beamed excitedly. "Ah, here he is folks! The hero of Edge, slayer of Sephiroth, Cloud Strife!"
The crowd erupted into a high pitched fervor, the sudden noise of it making Cloud jump back. He seemed to notice how many people were there for the first time, and in the face of the sheer numbers, his murderous disposition left his face in a flash. In its place came a nervous and entirely uncomfortable stare.
"But he didn't do it alone folks! We'd be wrong if we didn't acknowledge his fellow warriors and friends, those who saved the world two years ago, AVALANCHE!" Reeve's smile only grew as he held a hand out towards the rest of the group, his eyes pleading for them to just come out and enjoy the moment. He had organized this entire event, a massive celebration in the central courtyard of Kalm, to honour those who had come to mean so much to him. The Festival of the Planet, commemorating both Meteorfall and Geostigma's end.
With a reluctant sigh, and bracing herself for the scrutiny of so many eyes, Tifa began to walk forward.
"Proprietor of Seventh Heaven in Edge, and a vision of compassion and beauty, Tifa Lockhart!" called Reeve, happy to have some company on stage. Tifa blushed at his words, and waved politely at the bellow of mostly male voices from the crowd.
She took her place beside Cloud, and still smiling, whispered under her breath, "Where were you?"
Cloud, glancing at her in surprise, seemed concerned. "You didn't notice?"
"Notice what?" she scoffed, turning to look at him and noticing… noticing that he stood in a pristine and sharply pressed SOLDIER First Class uniform. Gleaming, a freshly restored Buster Sword hung comfortably on his back, his twin shoulder guards polished to perfection. "Where did you…?"
"I wanted to wear this for the occasion, so I asked Reeve if there were any leftovers from Shinra. He told me there were, and that I could get one easily, but…" Cloud glanced over his shoulder and glared at Reeve. "It took me upwards of four hours. Sorry for the wait."
Tifa flushed and looked out at the crowd. So that's why he was late… She left like she should say something to him, but Reeve interrupted her again as he introduced the next member of their group.
"Leader of AVALANCHE, a frontrunner in oil research and an idol for us all, Barret Wallace!"
Barret stumbled nervously onto the stage, a goofy grin spreading on his face when he heard the crowd cheer rather than gasp in horror. He took his place beside Tifa and waved enthusiastically at the horde of people screaming their appreciation. He looked back at stage left and waved encouragingly, Marlene's small shape suddenly dashing out of the shadows to hide behind his leg. He picked her up, and smiling in his arms, she began to wave at the crowd too.
"Pilot of the Shera, the first man in space, and my good friend, Cid Highwind!" called Reeve, satisfied Barret had finished.
Cid burst onto the stage and jogged up towards Barret. He grinned mischievously at the audience and saluted before popping a cigarette back into his mouth. "Aw, shut up!" he called, waving away their cheers. "C'mon you damn fools, what're you so excited about?" Despite his angry words, he couldn't hide the shine in his eyes.
"The son of the mighty Seto, and protector of both Cosmo Canyon and the Planet itself, Nanaki!"
Trotting out into the light, his fur lit ablaze by the brilliant lights, Nanaki looked every bit the mighty warrior Reeve had painted him out to be. Moving steadily forward before reaching Cid, Nanaki sat back on his haunches and nodded graciously. The crowd roared at this, and spurred by their enthusiasm, Nanaki let out a powerful howl and quickly disappeared into the surging ovation.
"Daughter of Godo of Wutai, dedicated ninja, and master of materia, Yuffie Kisaragi!"
Obviously frustrated at having to wait so long for her grand entrance, Yuffie sprinted onto the stage and waved both hands at the crowd before her. As she skipped past Reeve, Tifa heard her whisper that she was in fact the "GRAND Master" of materia, but Reeve pretended to ignore her. Undeterred, Yuffie jumped onto Barret's broad back to get a higher vantage point, before flashing a peace sign and her trademark grin. Hopping back off Barret, she ambled over and crouched down by Nanaki, the both of them grinning like children.
"Finally, a former Turk and the dedicated protector of those he holds dear, Vincent Valentine!" cried Reeve, holding his hand out for Vincent.
No one came.
"Uh, Vincent?" called Reeve, his smile fading away for the first time. "Please, it won't take long."
Booming with laughter, Cid looked over his shoulder and called, "Forget it Reeve, he's long gone by now. You get yer ass up here though, you're as much a part of us as anyone!"
Dismayed that Vincent had left, Reeve nonetheless came to join the rest of them and waved politely to the crowd. They all burst into cheers once again, their joyful voices bringing smiles of all different sizes and shapes to the faces of AVALANCHE.
Behind the crowd, on a rooftop and out of sight, Vincent gave an appreciative chuckle before turning and fading into the night.
The next day, Tifa stood at the bar of Seventh Heaven, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to wipe the sleep from her eyes. It was already ten o'clock, a far cry from her usual start at six, but it would do for her day off. After the very fun and very public celebration at the festival, Tifa had invited everyone back to Seventh Heaven for a private party that had gone long into the morning.
She had used the excuse that the plethora of photographers and flashing bulbs had given her a headache, and while she hadn't particularly liked that, she really just wanted to be alone with her closest friends. Being chaperoned around to pose in one picture after another had been fun at first, but quickly lost its charm.
Looking around the bar now, dressed only in a pair of old sweats and an over-sized t-shirt of Cloud's, Tifa was amazed at how much they had all drank. Empty glasses littered the bar and many of the tables, the most impressive pile of which was in one of the side booths where Cid and Barret had their drinking contest. Barret had able to scrape out a victory before promptly passing out himself.
She smiled at the memory, not just of the contest or Barret's drunken mumblings about his old sailor suit, but of the entire night. Even Cloud had managed to relax somewhat, engaging Denzel in a paper towel roll duel and talking with Nanaki, before finally succumbing to Barret's pleas for an arm wrestle. It had been good to see.
The sound of the front door opening made her jump, an embarrassed smile escaping her lips when she realized it was just Cloud walking in with the newspaper.
"Good morning Cloud," she cooed, her voice sounding entirely too pleased this early in the morning. She eyed him head to toe, from his bare feet, past his soft cotton pajama pants, all the way up to his loosely fitting sweater. "How long have you been up?"
Seeming to notice her for the first time, a slight smile came to his face. "A couple hours. Sorry I didn't clean up more, but Yuffie made a mess of the garage, so I took care of that first."
"Is she alright?" asked Tifa, trying to ask Cloud if he had hassled her for messing with his toys without actually outright saying it.
Cloud just nodded assuredly, before glancing first at the newspaper in his hand, then the empty glasses in hers. "Here, I'll take care of those after I get some coffee started. You can read the paper until then."
Tifa shook her head, "It's okay, we can do it together. I don't mind."
Cloud looked unsure, as if he had a plan that she had just foiled. "Uh, alright. But first, I'll get the coffee going. Read the paper." He held it out for her, and after she hesitantly took it, he slipped away to the kitchen.
"Why do you want me to read the paper so bad?" she asked after him, hopping up to sit on a table while she spread the newsprint over her legs. "You usually go through it first, don't you?"
"This time is different," said Cloud, carefully measuring out the right amount of coffee grounds to go with the appropriate amount of water. He was getting better, but he still took a long time to do much of anything in the kitchen. As Tifa smiled at the sight of him working away, she thought she heard him say something else.
Had he said, "Better late than never?"
Shrugging, she began to read the front page, the headline declaring that the festival had showcased the "TRIUMPHANT HEROES OF THE PLANET." Smiling, Tifa began to skim over the article, turning to the second page for the continuation of the story.
There, in the middle of the page, was a picture. It was a picture of Cloud and her, alone, standing off to the side and smiling at the camera. Well, she was smiling, Cloud just stood beside her with a neutral expression. With his sword, the SOLDIER uniform and his hand on her back, Cloud looked like he was one of the bodyguards assigned to the celebrities in Costa del Sol before Shinra's fall. He wasn't even looking at the camera, instead, he seemed to be looking at her.
She angled her head, and without looking up, said, "I don't remember this picture being taken…"
As a coffee cup entered her peripheral vision, Tifa glanced up. She accepted the drink with a smile, Cloud's hand holding the paper open now that hers was busy holding the steaming mug.
"I do," he said, a bland statement of fact. "It took me a while to get you away from everyone else, but it was worth it."
She looked at him but said nothing, afraid that any word she uttered would be like the snap of a broken twig scaring away a deer. He continued to look at the picture, his eyes shining as brightly as they always did.
"I was hoping for the front page, but the group shot is probably better for that. The second page is fine," he mused, seemingly more to himself that to her.
"Cloud…?" she whispered, her curiosity getting the better of her. He might not say anymore, but she wanted to know for sure.
"'Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?'" he said, turning to look at her now. She realized that he was closer now than he had been just a moment ago, but she didn't pull away. "'If you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind, you come save me alright?' That's what you said, isn't it?"
"Cloud?" she whispered again, unsure yet what to think.
He finally smiled back at her, a warm and shy smile, as he nodded his chin towards the paper. "It took me ten years, but I'm in the paper. They even tell me I'm famous."
Tifa laughed in spite of herself, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. "I've heard that too, that's strange…"
His forehead rested against hers, their noses lightly touching. She felt herself blush, her only solace coming from the fact that he was too. "I'm not sure if I have what it takes to be your hero, but…" He paused to think, "I'm gonna try anyway."
She smiled, her nose crinkling as she did so, "I'd like that." She wanted to say something more, to tell him she loved him, that he already was her hero, but that was all she could manage. For now, at least.
Cloud smiled too, before abruptly turning serious. He turned a darker shade of red, and through his bangs, Tifa could see his eyes close. "Don't heroes usually get a kiss?" he asked quietly.
"Uh-huh," she mumbled, pleasantly surprised when his lips found hers.
Thanks for reading! I'll update later if anyone is interested. Please read and review!