AN:/ This is my first FFVII fanfic after all, so please no flames. Expect randomness, fluffiness and, perhaps, drama.
It's set after Advent Children, by the way.
Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII.
Chapter 1
Okaeri
Three months had past since AVALANCHE's fateful battle with Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz and Sephiroth. Despite the fact that Edge had been absolutely devastated, once again, be the event, the city was slowly reviving itself; the evidence of the destruction disappearing little by little. Even the Church where Aerith used to frequent was rebuilt; the spring, however, was basically left untouched; surrounded by flowers as it was before.
AVALANCHE's members were also keeping themselves busy all over Gaia but managed to still keep in touch with each other.
At least most of them.
"Cloud…"
The name escaped Tifa's lips in a sigh. There was no news from Cloud since he left the week before for a delivery though every time he did return, he would almost immediately leave again for another delivery.
Tifa grabbed a glass and started wiping it dry while staring in the empty bar. It was just a few hours before opening the bar and the two kids were at school; the only time Tifa could immerse herself in her own thoughts.
"I mean, I'm glad that Cloud is keeping himself busy but I wished that, since he's not sick anymore, he'd be home more often..." Tifa mused out loud, furrowing her brows in annoyance. She put down the glass and grabbed another angrily. "Baka."
"Who's the baka?"
Tifa spun around in surprise, dropping the glass when she accidentally bumped the counter in her haste. It fell on the ground with a resounding crash in the silent room.
Before her stood the subject of her thoughts; his eyebrows arched as his mako blue eyes gave her a worried glance.
"Cloud… Okaerinasai…" She greeted quietly, suddenly feeling breathless in her shock.
Cloud nodded and stepped behind the counter where she stood. "Are you hurt?" He asked, bending down to pick up the shattered glass.
Tifa shook her head, replying, "No, I'm fine. You don't have to do that." She reached for the broom stashed in the corner but Cloud already took it away from her reach, saying "it's alright" in the process.
The ruby-eyed martial artist nodded again, standing awkwardly behind him as he cleaned the mess. 'Come to think of it…' She wondered in her head, 'how did he get in without me noticing?'
She was still pondering about this when Cloud waved a gloved hand in front of her face, shaking her out of her reverie.
"Tifa?"
Startled, she looked up at him, blinking in confusion as she intelligently responded, "What?"
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Tifa smiled, nodding her head once again until she noticed the dark stain on his left sleeve. "Cloud, you're bleeding!"
The spiky-haired man clutched his sleeve mumbling something incomprehensible, his blue eyes downcast.
"Wait here, I'll get some bandages." Tifa ordered, forcing the older male onto a stool and rummaging through the cupboards.
Cloud pulled his arm away from her when she returned, bandages in hand. "It's fine-" But her ruby eyes gleamed in determination as she pulled his arm back towards her. "No it's not. Just let me treat it."
Hesitantly, he allowed her to pull up the sleeve, wincing when she dabbed alcohol on the scar that marred his pale skin.
Awkward in the silence that fell upon them, Cloud decided to strike a conversation with the bartender.
"Where are Denzel and Marlene?"
"At school. It's a weekday, remember?"
"Oh yeah…"
Unfortunately, Cloud wasn't a very social person so the silence persisted until Tifa cleared her throat.
"What happened to your arm?"
"There was a truck being attacked by fiends… I guess I got hit when I helped them…"
Tifa sighed, tying the bandage around the gash. "Next time, please be more careful."
"Gomen…"
With another sigh, the black-haired woman returned the first-aid kit to its former place. 'I wish you'd talk to me more…' She brushed away the stray thought then resumed her task of cleaning the dishes. "Do you want anything to eat?"
Behind her, Cloud pulled down his sleeve and stood from his seat. "No, thank you… I have to make another delivery."
Grabbing his shades, the blonde man started to walk towards the door when he heard a bang behind him, making him turn around and stare at Tifa in confusion.
"Tifa-"
"WHY DON'T YOU EVER STAY?"
Cloud immediately stopped, his eyes widening slightly at her words. His blue gazed directly at her ruby ones which were as wide as plates.
As soon as the words had left her mouth, Tifa clamped her hands over it with a gasp. 'My big fat mouth just had to blurt that out! Baka, baka, BAKA!!!'
The confused Cloud took a step toward his best friend, "Tifa-?"
But he was once again cut off when Tifa nervously shook her head, removing the hands that covered her mouth. "No," she said, stepping away from him. "It's nothing, really. "Just go make you deliveries." With those words, she turned to run upstairs but Cloud managed to grab her wrist to stop her hurried escape.
"What-?"
Of course, he momentarily forgot that Tifa was a martial artist with unbelievable strength.
She yanked her hand from his grip and muttered an icy "nothing" before she fled to her room, leaving Cloud alone to his thoughts.
'Why can't I seem to say more than one word?'
One thing that Cloud liked about being in the delivery business was having the roads to himself, allowing his to immerse himself in his thoughts without anyone disturbing him.
This time, however, Tifa's earlier outburst still resonated in Cloud's mind; the image of her disturbed eyes still fresh in memory.
'It's a good thing this delivery's nearby,' thought the troubled ex-Soldier as he manoeuvred the Fenrir around a bend. 'I need to get advice from a woman expert.'
"You want woman advice… from me?"
The vampire tilted his head, surprised this day had ever come. The spiky-haired man nodded vigorously.
"You're the only one I can ask, Vincent… Considering my options at the moment…"
They paused momentarily, imagining horrible situations their other said friends could conjure before snapping back to reality.
Vincent leaned back on his seat thoughtfully. They were in a small café in the outskirts of Edge, a last minute meeting place Cloud called him to on Vincent's new cell phone, which was quickly purchased after the battle three months ago because of Marlene's comment. (Not that Vincent minded having the new phone. In fact, Barret teasingly compared him to a kid on Christmas morning when he first received it.) Despite the fact that they were sitting in one of the more isolated corners in the café, the two of them looked ridiculously out of place in the bright atmosphere.
"Maybe the answer to your problem is more simple than you think."
Cloud quirked an eyebrow and responded with a blunt, "What?"
The vampire crossed his arms under his tattered cape. "Meaning: stay at the 7th Heaven longer than just a few minutes."
The blonde nodded in contemplation, thinking 'Vincent is smarter than he looks!' a comment that would have earned him a remark of annoyance from the older man.
Standing up, Cloud murmured a word of appreciation before leaving the vampire alone to admire his cleverness… only to realize minutes later that he would have to pay for both their drinks.
The 7th Heaven was filled with customers once again, keeping Tifa busy and thankfully keeping her mind off matters from earlier that day. The two kids were now playing some new game Denzel had invented outside.
She was conversing with one of her regular customers when the bell, that signalled the opening of the door, rang. She turned to greet the person with her usual finesse but stopped in shock when she saw who it was.
"Cloud! I haven't seen you in a long time!" exclaimed the half-drunk customer whom Tifa was just talking to, "The delivery business keeping you busy?"
Cloud nodded politely at the familiar face, not really registering who it was or what he was saying. "Tifa…" The woman's gaze darted away from his. "May I speak to you?"
"I'm busy, Cloud."
Cloud inwardly winced at her frosty tone and turned back to the door, mumbling something about Denzel and Marlene.
"That Cloud's as silent as ever!" remarked the drinking man, hiccupping from the alcohol.
Tifa stared at Cloud's vanishing figure with glazed eyes, absent-mindedly saying, "Yes, that's true…"
'I wonder where the kids are…' Tifa wondered, serving another drink to a woman among the last cluster of people in the tavern. 'They've been gone for hours…' As if in reply, the bell to the door rang and a cheerful voice reached her ears.
"Tifa, Tifa; guess what!"
The brown-haired girl bounded up to the woman energetically, pulling a slightly taller boy with her into the bar.
"What is it, Marlene?"
"We had such a great time with Cloud today! We went to all sorts of places!" Denzel's head bobbed up and down beside her happily.
The mention of Cloud's name made Tifa stop her actions and raise her eyebrows at once. "Cloud?"
Denzel nodded again, pulling up an unoccupied stool at the counter. "He came to get us at the park and we walked around the mall!" Marlene piped up excitedly, "He bought us some stuff too!"
On cue, the bell rang again and in came Cloud, carrying dozens of shopping bags of different colours and sizes. After a feeble attempt of waving at her, caused not by the weight of the bags but the number of bags along the length of his arms that made him incapable of bending them, he mumbled a barely audible greeting.
Tifa stared and gasped, "What on Earth!?" before hurrying to his side. It took a few minutes for the three to take the bags off, complaining (for once in their lives) about Cloud's large muscles.
"I'll just help Denzel and Marlene bring these upstairs." Cloud stated, starting to pick up the bags left behind the two who trudged up the stairs with their load.
"Cloud, what about your deliveries?"
"I won't be delivering for a while…"
Startled by his response, Tifa raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What do you mean? Don't you have another delivery to-"
"They're cancelled."
"Cancelled?"
Not wanting to tell her the whole truth, that he persuaded Cid to do them for him- a conversation that just happened to include the mention of a dozen crates of liquor, Cloud shrugged saying, "yeah, I'm taking a break for a while…"
Tifa, taken aback by this statement, hesitantly asked, "You mean…?"
With a nod, Cloud smiled at her gently. "Tadaima."
Without warning, Tifa hugged him, causing Cloud to instantly worry and drop the bags in his hands. "What's wrong?" Tifa shook her head against his shoulder and whispered into his ear, "okaeri."
Cloud smiled at what could have been a perfect moment… until it was ruined by some drunken customer who ignorantly ordered another glass of sake.
AN:/ I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please look forward to more. (Psst- Go on, you know you want to review!)