One Night in Nibelheim
This is my sort of part 3 installment to 'She's Like the Wind' and 'Hungry Eyes'. It's not a true part 3 but I wanted to write something else that related to those previous stories. Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you like it!
I don't own Final Fantasy, it belong to Square Enix.
"Hello?" Tifa answered the phone. She laughed. "Oh my god! Hey, you! What's going on?" she asked as she threw some things into a large duffle on the bed.
"Long time no talk, young lady. What the hell you been in to?" the voice on the other end asked. She laughed and sighed.
"Oooh working a lot, keeping the books current on the business, raising two kids, and that's about it." Tifa answered.
"Oh yeah, that's right! You're doing that pretend mom thing these days. How's that working out for you?" The voice on the other end of the phone was none other than Cid Highwind. It was a voice Tifa hadn't heard in some time. Tifa laughed at him.
"It's going well. The kids are very happy. Marlene is in the 6th grade this year and Denzel is in the 5th." Tifa said.
"Does Barret come around much?" Cid asked.
"No. He's on some kind of assignment up north. He keeps sending checks and me and Cloud keep sending them through the paper shredder. He hasn't seen Marlene since Cloud's birthday which was two months ago." Tifa said.
"Yeah, so Cloud? How is he?" Cid asked.
"He's great, Cid. He really is. He's working less since we hired so many new employees for the delivery business. I think he likes it that way. The best part is that I no longer handle the delivery phone calls and the boxes don't come to this apartment anymore! He and I can actually walk into our kitchen without tripping over fifty things. In fact we replaced the carpet with hardwood floors in here since we no longer have boxes that will scratch them to pieces." Tifa said.
"You mean to tell me Cloud picked out hardwood floors with you and didn't have some kind of personal crisis or irrational meltdown? Tifa! What the hell have you done to my boy! Nah, nah I'm playing. I'm glad to hear he's doing well. I would love to see you two. A little bird named Yuffie told me he put quite a lot of rock in your ears for your birthday this year." Cid said. Tifa laughed and zipped the duffle on the bed.
"Well, the little bird told you correctly." Tifa blushed a bit.
"Listen. What are you and Cloud doing this weekend?" Cid asked.
"Actually, we're going to be leaving in about an hour or so for Nibelheim. Cloud's only working half a day today and I worked overtime last night so I wouldn't have to go in this weekend. We're going to see my dad and not to mention we haven't been back to Nibelheim for several years now. We're just staying for the night." Tifa said.
"Okay, what do you think about me dropping by to see you all Sunday?" Cid asked.
"That would be great, Cid. Any time is fine." Tifa said.
"Those kids excited to see Nibelheim? They've never been there right?" Cid asked.
"They aren't going with us. Listen to this. Yuffie and this guy she's seeing are picking up the kids early from school today and they are going to an indoor water park for pretty much the rest of the day. Yuffie's staying here at the apartment with them. Cloud made her swear on her life that her boyfriend wouldn't stay here with her and the kids. It was so funny." Tifa said.
"I can't believe you're entrusting Yuffie to your children." Cid said laughing.
"Hey! They love Yuffie! Besides, Yuffie is 20 going on 12 she has fun with them and comes up with the craziest shit to do with them." Tifa said. Cid laughed again.
"I can't believe you just used Yuffie and boyfriend in the same sentence. Of course I also can't believe how you have Cloud whipped into this family life of picking out flooring for your apartment and cutting down on his hours at work." Cid said.
"Hey, that was all Cloud's doing. I just sat back and watched it happen and I wouldn't lie to you about that kind of thing Cid." Tifa said.
"Yeah, I know. You're a good girl, Tifa for putting up with that man this long. Listen here, I'll let you go. I can't wait to see you two and the kids Sunday. I'll call you sometime tomorrow and let you know what time I'll be in. Do you think Cloud would be okay with the kids coming on to the Shera? I'd love to show it to them." Cid said sincerely.
"Yeah, he'd be fine with that. But I'm warning you, they will each have fifty questions a piece." Tifa said. Cid laughed.
"That's great! Even better! If that's something they would be interested in, then I would be happy for them to come aboard. Alright, I'll see you Sunday, bye Tifa!" Cid said.
"Bye Cid, see you soon!" Tifa answered him before hanging up the phone. There was still a lot to do before Cloud came home and they left for Nibelheim. It was a three hour trip from Midgar and today was the perfect October day for a ride. Tifa made sure Marlene and Denzel's stuff was laid out on their beds for their trip to the water park with Yuffie: swimsuits, extra clothes, flip flops, an extra pair of shoes for later, and towels. It was all there. Tifa grabbed the duffle bag she had packed for her and Cloud and plopped it at the edge of the kitchen counter near the door. She dug around in her purse for some money to leave for Yuffie. She thought it was a good idea to leave her a note as well. Tifa scribbled her dad's phone number on a piece of paper. As she wrote she heard the door open. Cloud was home earlier than expected.
"Hey." Tifa said.
"Hey…look at this." Cloud said shoving some papers in front of Tifa's face. So much for that note she was working on for Yuffie. Tifa glanced over the three pages that Cloud had shoved at her. "Oh you had your physical today." Tifa said scanning the first page. Ever since Cloud had been exposed to Mako he required a physical every year to ensure the Mako wasn't doing anything strange in his body.
"Yes, I had my physical." Cloud said a bit disgruntled.
"And you sound so irritated by this because everything came back normal?" Tifa questioned with sarcasm.
"Look at the top." Cloud said getting a glass of water from the sink.
"Yeah, you'd think they would know how to spell your last name by now." Tifa said noticing the typo.
"No, no…that's not it. Look at my weight." Cloud insisted sitting across from her.
"150 pounds." Tifa read it without any inflection in her voice.
"Exactly, Tifa! 150 pounds! I'm ten pounds heavier this year, Tifa! I have gained ten pounds since my last physical." Cloud said. Tifa looked at him over the papers.
"And you're upset over this because….?" Tifa questioned noticing Cloud was going to get dramatic on her for the next god only knows how long.
"I have always, always weighed 140 pounds. What have I done differently that has put ten pounds on me! Where on me have I put on ten pounds? Where! You show me." Cloud said standing up. Tifa rolled her eyes.
"Okay, Miss Cloud sit down and chill. Are you seriously sitting here and whining like a menopausal housewife over how you weighed at your physical?" Tifa said.
"Yes! I can't believe this, Tifa! I haven't gained weight in years! Why now!" Cloud whined at her. Tifa sighed.
"Come on…" Tifa stood up and grabbed Cloud by the hand.
"Where are we going?" Cloud questioned.
"I'm putting an end to this. You're going to take off all your clothes and get on our scale." Tifa said. "Anytime you get weighed at any doctor they always weigh you dressed; did you ever think of that?" Tifa said waiting for Cloud to undress and step on the scale and put an end to this drama.
"Go ahead, strip! I'm going to read the number to you before you look at it!" Tifa insisted. Cloud did as she told him. "Now look straight ahead. Stand still!" Tifa scolded him." She looked at the scale. "140 pounds. There, are you happy? Now, get dressed. I have to finish the note I'm leaving for Yuffie.
"Huh…140 pounds. This changes everything! I can have an amazing dinner with your dad tonight! Oh we are going to take him some place nice!" Cloud insisted completely relieved by this.
"I'm glad your test came back normal even though I feel like I should be handing you a tampon right now." Tifa yelled from the kitchen.
"Did you say you're writing a note to Yuffie? Put in there that she needs to make sure the kids do their homework tomorrow." Cloud said getting dressed again.
"Thanks for reminding me, I actually hadn't thought of that. How was your day besides the obvious drama the doctor created for you?" Tifa asked continuing her note.
"Today was really low key. I'm guessing it's because of it being Friday. Did you already pack for us?" Cloud asked searching the bedroom for the duffle bag that he didn't realize was already packed.
"Yeah, the bag's out here." Tifa said. She had just finished the note to Yuffie. "Hey guess who's going to come by and see us Sunday? Cid! He called today and said he's going to be in town." Tifa said heading toward the couch to get her shoes.
"It's been forever since we've seen him. Yuffie has a key to the apartment, right?" Cloud asked.
"Yes, I gave it to her yesterday. Denzel and Marlene's things are laid out on their bed. I paid our cell phone bill today and called Yuffie this morning to tell her not to pick up the kids until after 12:00 so it would count as a full day of school." Tifa said. Cloud laughed.
"She will pick them up at 12:01 exactly." He said.
"She said she would take a camera with her to the water park." Tifa said buttoning her sweater coat and pulling her hair back into a pony tail before they left for the ride to Nibelheim. "Okay, I'm ready." Tifa said. Cloud picked up their duffle bag before turning the kitchen light out.
"I'm looking forward to this. I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen your father. I imagine his opinion of me has changed over the years. I, at least, hope it has." Cloud said locking the door behind Tifa as she stepped out onto the stairs. "We need to stop and get gas before we get too far out of town. The prices are higher the farther out of Midgar we get. Do you have our confirmation number for the inn?" Cloud asked.
"I do. It's in my purse." Tifa said as they reached the base of the stairs. They walked around to the back overhang where the Fenrir was parked. It was time to load up and get going if they wanted to be in Nibelheim by 2:00. The ride to Nibelheim was going to be a beautiful one. The leaves were clad in radiant hues and the air was crisp today. Nibelheim would be considerably cooler than Midgar simply because of its elevation. Strangely, neither Cloud nor Tifa was nervous about returning to Nibelheim after all these years. Tifa had talked to her father frequently on the phone and so their appearance would be no surprise for him. Tifa's father didn't however; understand this living situation she had with Cloud.
"Alright, that's everything." Tifa said closing up one of the back side hatches. Cloud dug around in his pocket for the keys, finally finding them. Tifa got on the bike behind him.
"Don't you think for a minute you can lay on me and go to sleep." Cloud said teasing her. Tifa laughed.
"I promise I won't lay on you and go to sleep. There's no way I could anyway." Tifa said.
"Are we going to check in at the inn first or go straight to your dad's?" Cloud asked her.
"Let's check in first. We'll call him once we get to the inn to let him know we're there." Tifa said. It was a busy Friday in Midgar as they left the traffic circle for the freeway toward the outer belt of the city. They would be traveling a mostly two lane road to Nibelheim. There was a gas station at the end of the freeway. For a moment Tifa thought about digging her gloves out of the duffle bag when they stopped to fill up. But since Cloud had worn his gloves she decided she would just jam her hands in the pockets of his coat instead of rummaging through their bag and potentially spilling its contents all over the storage compartment. Tifa wrapped her arms around Cloud's waist and snuck her hands into his fleece-lined pockets. He was always so warm, or at least it seemed that way.
They were on the freeway now, taking in the October air. The gas station wasn't far up ahead. It would be the last stop before they headed for the outer belt to Nibelheim.