White Desire

Chapter 1

"He's late! He's late! Why da hell duz he gotta' show up late ev'ry single damn time! Who da hell duz he think he is!" The deep voice belonged to a middle-aged man who was adjusting his vest. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned his gaze to a young pale female who was following an older woman. "Marlene! Come 'ere!"

The pale female paused in her steps and slipped her hands behind her back. She looked a tad disappointed that she had been addressed and she shook her head before her voice softly rang out. "But Daddy, Tifa needs me! I'm her only helper!" And without waiting for him to respond, she followed her companion and tugged upon the long black skirt. "Right, Tifa? I'm your helper, right?"

Feathered hair fell into ruddy-hued eyes and a smile was given. The older female was probably in her early twenties, but her face made her look younger. She was clad in black, an appropriate colour for her complexion and figure. Tifa Lockhart was slender and willowy, like a loose tree branch in the wind. She reached out a hand and gently ruffled Marlene's chestnut brown hair. "That's right, Marlene. You're my very special helper. My only helper." Another smile was given and Tifa slid behind the bar counter to wipe down the surface.

For about the last four to five years, she had owned and worked her Seventh Heaven bar in Sector 7 of Edge, a rather broken-down town that had once bustled with life and was the replacement for the rather large metropolis of Midgar. Tifa was surprised that she remained in this place rather than moving onto bigger and better things. AVALANCHE's resistance group seemed to have unofficially disbanded and its members spread over the region. It seemed the same thing every day. Marlene's father, Barret Wallace, would try to pick through the news and find out what Shin-Ra Electric Company was up to. So far, he'd found nothing.

"Until Cloud comes in. Then he takes my place." Marlene's whiny voice broke into her thoughts and the older female turned to the pale girl and was silent for a few moments. Then she ducked her head to dismiss the subject. Marlene's lips curled into a smile as she giggled. "Tifa, do you love Cloud?"

Out of the mouth of babes! Tifa couldn't believe the young girl had actually asked that. She glanced to Barret, who was sitting at the table closest to the door, and he gave a hearty laugh. Obviously she wouldn't be getting any help from him. She glanced back to Marlene and gave a sigh as she turned her attention to wiping down the counter. "That's a rather complicated question. Love is...often indescribable. There are different types of love. I love Cloud as a friend. I love him as family. In those respects, yes, I do love Cloud." A small smile was given and a faint pink hue blessed her cheeks. Just the thought of Cloud made a little spark in her that was fairly noticeable by the others around.

Marlene gave a slow nod. She was young, but she was very smart for her age. She'd lived a difficult life so far, but she was grateful for everything she had. A hand rose to point at Tifa's cheeks. "You're blushing! That means you're in love with Cloud, right?" She started to continue, but paused when she heard the creaking of the front door.

In the doorway stood a young man of blonde hair. Like Tifa, he was clad in black. His lips were held in the shape of a vague smile and a hand lifted to remove his sunglasses. "Sorry I'm late. Were you guys waiting long?" He acknowledged Barret first, knowing the black man had a temper, and then approached Marlene to kneel before her. "You get cuter every day. If I were your daddy, I'd be worried about someone taking you away from me." He handed her a lone flower with a smile. Raising to his feet, he withdrew a bouquet of white lilies, Tifa's favourite flower, and then handed it to her. "Who are you in love with, Tifa? Could it be that I have competition? Tell me about this man who's captured your heart."

Barret took this as his cue to leave and before Marlene could begin whining again, he escorted her to the basement by use of the pinball machine. As much as he disliked admitting it, he knew the two needed their time together. It was a rare occurrence to see the young man, and Tifa deserved as much time with him as she could get.

The older female didn't even have a chance to protest. Her eyes met that lovely aqua-green hue before her. "Marlene was just talking nonsense. She's young...and she just doesn't understand." She took a few moments to place the flowers into a vase and she gave a small smile. "This young man...he's really sweet and nice, but he's sort of a dork." There was a small chuckle that was heard and then she shook her head at him with disapproval. "Seriously, it probably just slipped. Before you came in she was asking about love and you. She's such a strange girl. I wonder how Barret handles her." Her eyes scouted over the empty bar and she pulled up a stool to sit down. "Can I make you something?" It was a common question for her to ask.

Cloud Strife was only a year older than her, but stress had taken a hold on him. Unlike Tifa, he looked a little older than what he actually was. When she had offered him a drink, he shook his head, slipping his shades to rest upon his head. "That's not wise at this time. I came here with some interesting news and thought you guys would like in on it as well. Should I call Barret back up here or do we want to meet downstairs?" Although her bar was fairly empty, he always felt that their meetings should be taken care of as soon as possible.

The two exchanged glances and a little bit of shuffling ensued before the rather small group met in the basement, which hadn't really changed too much since the last time they'd visited it. Cloud sat in a chair by the main computer, Barret on the couch with Marlene, and Tifa took her place at the table.

Barret's gruff voice rang out and he resisted the temptation to peg Cloud with machine gun bullets. "Ya sed ya have info! Hand it over!" He wasn't in the mood to fiddle around. He wanted his information and he wanted it at that exact moment. His arm, the one not connected to the gun parts, slammed into the coffee table before him and Marlene. His eyes said they meant business. He would have continued, but his daughter stopped him.

Even though they were mostly mature adults, Cloud rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Pfft. You can ask me better than that. I work hard for my information, so you should be more grateful for it." Before Tifa could object, which he knew she wanted to, he raised a hand and shook his head. "All right. I know how badly you've wanted some action and I'm sure this will bring some. Rufus Shin-Ra has plans to continue with Neo-Midgar and he's in search of a new energy source."

Prior to the most recent events, Rufus Shin-Ra had followed in his father's footsteps to conquer the world by the use of mako. It was found, however, to be detrimental to the planet, shortening its lifespan. AVALANCHE was created to stop the Shin-Ra company, bring peace to the slums, and save the planet. Since Midgar had fallen, very little was known about him and his company until Cloud was offered a job as Rufus's third bodyguard. Now that this information had risen, it sounded as though there was more than what appeared.

Barret rose to his feet and stomped around angrily. He never was very good at controlling his temper. "Dat damn Shin-Ra! When da hell will he learn! He's jes' full of surprises and dat pisses me off!" Then he turned to Cloud and gestured at him. "So whaddya want us ta do 'bout this! We'z needs more information! I'd rather jes' run in an' kick his ass, but I knows we'z against dat." He lowered his hand and merely looked at the blonde, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"I was getting to that, Mr. T." Cloud stood up and began to pace back and forth thoughtfully. "Although Rufus has confessed he's not using mako, this could just be a cover up. So our job is to uncover the truth and expose him. And then we've got to stop his plans." He quieted down and it was apparent he was thinking. He'd formulated a plan while he was on his way, but he was replaying it before talking about it. A few minutes and nods later, he pointed to Tifa. "You're going to be a main character in this game. We're sending you to get the exclusive story straight from the guy."

Tifa's jaw nearly dropped open and she shook her head. Shin-Ra had caused so many problems and she was full of so much anger for anything dealing with the company. Cloud should have known how she was going to react. "You're kidding me, Cloud! No way! Get someone else to do it, because I won't." And that was about all she had to say. Her father had been killed indirectly by Shin-Ra. She'd lost Cloud to Shin-Ra. And had it not been for Shin-Ra, Aerith would have lived. Shin-Ra this, Shin-Ra that.

The blonde-haired young man sat down next to her and slipped an arm around her shoulder. "I know how difficult this will be for you. Let me explain why no one else can do this. Barret is the leader of AVALANCHE. Rufus knows that. I was technically a bodyguard for the handicapped man. He knows me. Vincent was a Turk and worked for him. Yuffie couldn't pull it off. She'd get caught stealing something. Cait Sith is operated by a member of the Turks. Red XIII...was another experiment for the company. And Cid had a close relationship with the guy for the space program. You're the only one who hasn't come into contact with him. That's why you'll be perfect. He doesn't even know who you are." He thought he had explained himself quite well. Tifa wasn't one to really handle such situations gracefully.

She wanted to argue with him, but she found that she couldn't. Cloud had covered every aspect of the plan so far. Talking to him, it sounded so perfect for her to do the job herself. As her eyes met his, she gave a dejected sigh, the sign that she was going to comply. "Fine, fine. You made your point. Tell me what the rest of your plan is. I can't walk in like this and just interrogate him."

"Glad you asked, glad you asked." He lifted a hand, beckoning Barret and Marlene to join the two. When they had, he continued his plan. "I know we've still got some high-tech equipment for use. We're going to set up our base here and attach a mic to Tifa and she can feed us information on the spot." He turned to Tifa and gave a grin. "You'll pose as a member of the press and use your feminine wiles to get an exclusive interview with him."

The look on Tifa's face was as far from amusement as one could get. "Your plan sucks. I don't like it. Have you forgotten who I am? I'm as far from girly as you can possibly get." She muttered a string of comments beneath her breath, most dealing with how she wished Aerith was there to do this for her. Then she turned her attention to the other three and gave a subtle nod. "This whole this is stupid, but I'll do it. However, Cloud, once this is over, I'm going to make you wear a dress for a whole week."

She received a smile as her response and a nod from him as well. "Great! We'll get started tomorrow then! The sooner, the better!" He pushed himself up and raised his arms over his head as he yawned. "The early bird catches the worm. Hey, Tifa, let's go to bed." He took her by the wrist and began to pull her after him as Marlene giggled.

The young girl's eyes glanced between the two. "You two are going to bed together? Like...in the same bed? Like...what people do when they're in love?" She giggled some more and then fled after Tifa, throwing her arms around the older female's legs. "I don't want Cloud to take you away, because then you might not come back!"

Cloud took a moment to pry Marlene off of Tifa and he chuckled. "Sometimes we adults have to have our time together without children asking us questions." He nudged Tifa with a small grin. "Isn't that right, Tifa?" When his eyes found hers, she nodded until he looked away and then she began to shake her head. The young girl began to laugh again and before she could cling to someone else, her father had pulled her off to the side, allowing Cloud and Tifa to escape.

In the upstairs residence together, Tifa and Cloud were quietly resting. Each had a twin bed, but shared a room, which was typically thought of as 'Tifa's room'. As childhood friends they were comfortable with one another and once that had been established, they felt it was far from appropriate for them to be together.

It had been silent for a while and there was dim light out the window on the right side of the room. Cloud was still thinking about his plan, making absolutely certain that it was flawless. And when he just couldn't think anymore, his head turned to look at the female beside him. "Hey...are you still awake, Tifa?"

Her ruddy eyes found his and she nodded before raising her gaze to the ceiling. "Just counting the holes, I guess. Sheep no longer help me sleep. I've got too much on my mind. Why aren't you asleep yet?" Her hands raised and then rested across her stomach and she gave a sigh. Normally she would've waited for an answer, but she had more to say. "Why do you always take so long to return to the slums? You must really like it outside of here. You're gone so long and I worry about you. I worry if you'll come back to me safely." She always worried about things like that, even if she didn't voice them.

Cloud was quiet for a moment. This was a typical conversation between the two. Then he looked over at her again. "I've got to do something with my life. I just haven't found where my roots will grow yet. I don't mean to worry you. I always tell myself that one day I'll come back here and you won't be waiting for me anymore." He mimicked a heavy sigh in return. "I'll be here for a while, though. That's a good thing." He knelt down by her side and peeked over the edge. "Scoot over and let me up there. I'm not comfortable here yet."

She turned her head to look at him and raised an eyebrow. "You're as surprising as Shin-Ra is." She made a spot open for him beside her as she edged toward the window. When he joined her, she hesitated for a moment. If she could title him as someone, he was her best friend. She wasn't good with other females and frankly, she was annoyed by feminine things. As Cloud had taken one of her hands, she felt their fingers entwine. There was always an unspoken bond between the two, but it was all right. "Thank you, Cloud. You're always so considerate of my feelings. It's not required."

Cloud's other arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. "Stop that. It's annoying. You don't give yourself enough credit. You're a hard-working young woman who deserves a much better lifestyle than what you have. The next time I leave the slums, I want you to come with me...as my partner." He nearly coughed as his cheeks turned pink. He was glad it was dark because if she found out about that, he'd never live it down. "What do you think? We can work together. Leave Barret and Marlene in charge of the bar and we can go off together, the way we're supposed to be. You know that our names were written in the stars. It's meant to be. You and me, Tifa Lockhart, you and me."

She lifted her head to look to his face, but he looked completely serious. Tifa wasn't accustomed to such conversations with anyone and she almost disapproved, but it was Cloud after all. At least it wasn't Marlene or Barret, or worse yet, Vincent. Vincent's love life had ended on a sour note and it seemed to make him a little psycho every now and then. She cautiously planted her head against his chest. The possibility of her and Cloud. She wasn't sure what to think of that. "I'm not so sure that's such a good--"

He broke into her thoughts, ducking his head to plant a soft kiss upon the top of her silky hair. "Wait. I have a question for you. Do you really hate my plan so much?"

Tifa felt herself sinking into slumber. It was a shame that she was getting so tired when he was being truthful with her for once. Then her eyelashes fell as she narrowed her eyebrows. "Yes. I hate it. No, I detest it, loathe it. I don't hate anything, but I do detest this. You're dumb, Cloud. I can't wait to see you in a dress. I'm taking pictures this time."

Cloud chuckled softly and planted a fingertip to her lips. "Ssshh. It'll all be over soon. Let me tell you this story..."