Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor do I claim any ownership to the characters or settings or anything to do with Final Fantasy. I am simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes only.
The first thing I want to do is thank Soldier de Veritas and isacotti for the reviews for the first chapter. I really appreciate it. It helps keep me writing.
Okay, so here is chapter 2. This chapter is a little longer than the last so I hope that it is okay. Cloud isnt out of the water yet. More things are in store for him. Also, there is a little comic relief that I added in this chapter. I hope people figure it out. Well, without further ado, here is chapter 2. Please read and review. I really love getting reviews.
Spoiler Alert: If you have not played the game or seen Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, this may ruin them for you. Also, in the future, there will be spoilers for the game Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core. So be aware of that as well.
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Chapter 2
By the time Reno and Rude showed up to give them an update, Cloud was downstairs. After Tifa made sure that Cloud was situated and at least partially comfortable, she went outside to talk to Reno and Rude.
"So, how are things been going out at the oil fields?" Tifa asked as she leaned up against the outside wall of her bar. "Anymore progress?"
"Oh yeah." Reno said. "Just found another spot to drill so everything is great." He looked over at Rude who simply nodded. "So...Barret had to leave earlier...something to do with Cloud. What the hell was that about?"
"You mean Barret never told you the whole story?" Tifa asked and was rewarded with a blank stare from both of the men. She sighed and looked at them. "Cloud crashed his bike today."
Rude snapped his attention to Tifa and Reno raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Really?" It was the only thing that Reno could think to say. The question was...how was it possible. Cloud could drive almost as good as he could fight. "How did he..."
"We don't know how it happened." She paused for a second. "Barret told me that he got a call from Cloud's phone but when he answered, there was nobody on the other line. He said that he decided to come here to see what the call was about when he found Cloud unconscious with the bike on top of his leg."
"Oh." Reno said. Reno looked at Rude and then back to Tifa. An awkward silence enveloped the group, none of them knowing quite what to say until Tifa broke the silence.
"I was wondering if I could ask you two a favor before you leave." Reno just stared at her waiting for her to continue. "Could you help me brink Cloud's bed downstairs so that it can be moved into the room behind the bar.
Reno gave her a puzzled look. "Why?"
"He has a broken ankle and I think that climbing up and down the stairs with crutches would just be too much." Tifa explained being rewarded with an understanding expression from both Reno and Rude. Reno looked at Rude who just nodded.
"Sure...why not." Reno said as he and Rude started for the door.
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"Tifa." Cloud spat as he flinched away. Reno and Rude decided to bring the bed down without Tifa so she decided to finish cleaning the cut on Cloud's forehead.
"Would you hold still?" Tifa said in frustration as she reached for his forehead again. This time, the cloth didnt make it though. Before the cloth could reach his forehead, he grabbed her wrist.
"Cloud...I'm almost done." She said looking down at his big blue eyes. "After that...I'll leave you alone."
Cloud looked at her pleading brown eyes. How could he say no? Besides, she said she would leave him alone after. That was more than enough reason to let her continue. "Fine." He said as his group slowly released from Tifa's wrist.
"Hey." Reno said as he and Rude set the bed frame down at the bade of the stairs. Cloud and Tifa both turned their heads to focus their attention on Reno. Reno looked at Cloud's wrapped up ankle that was propped up on a chair a few feet in front of him. "You could always run over here and help us."
Cloud almost instantly looked away. He had a feeling that Reno would come up with some way to piss him off. Tifa glared at Reno. "Okay." Reno said holding his hands out in front of him as if it was going to keep her away. "I guess not." Tifa kept her eyes on Reno until he and Rude went back to what they were supposed to be doing.
"Leave it to Reno to come up with some smart ass comment to say." Tifa said before turning her attention back to Cloud.
"It doesn't surprise me any." Cloud said in a slightly depressed tone. Tifa could tell by his initial reaction to the comment and by his tone that what Reno said bothered him. Getting him to admit it though would be impossible. She wished that she could make him feel better both physically and emotionally but there wasn't anything she could really do.
Tifa continued to clean the cut on Cloud's forehead in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence though. After being around Cloud so much, it seemed like second nature for everything to be silent. "Oh crap...I almost forgot."
Cloud had a puzzled look on his face as he turned his head to look up at Tifa who had stopped everything she was doing instantly. Tifa smiled and sighed. "Marlene made something for you and I promised her that I would give it to you when you woke up." She paused for a second noticing the expression on Cloud's face lighten. "I'll be right back." Without another word, she set off towards Cloud's room.
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"Hey...Cloud." Tifa said as she gently nudged his shoulder. He looked up at her with a somewhat sad look on his face. "You okay?" Tifa's words were laced with concern.
"...Yeah." Cloud answered with a bit of a blank expression on his face. "Just thinking." Tifa only nodded at that statement. Cloud was always thinking. That was the main reason why he was so quiet. That and he just didn't want to talk about stuff. If he only knew how much emotions escaped him simply by the look in his eyes. His eyes, whenever she looked into his eyes, she could see nothing but raw emotion. Such an emotion was something that cloud would take to the grave though. "Tifa." Cloud said snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Oh...here." She said holding a folded piece of paper out to him.
Cloud took the folded piece of paper from Tifa's hand and opened it up. A gentle smile appeared on Cloud's face. Tifa couldn't believe it. He was smiling. He was actually smiling. What could Marlene have possibly drawn to finally get Cloud to smile for once. When Tifa walked over to look at the picture, she let a small giggle escape her lips. Marlene had drawn a picture of Cloud holding her and Denzel up in the air, on in each hand, like a super hero.
"Well...we're gonna get going now." Reno said suddenly appearing in the doorway behind the bar. Reno looked at Cloud and his bandaged left ankle. "I'd love to stay and chat more but I've got errands to you know...run."
"Reno!" Tifa snapped as she glared at him.
"Okay, okay." Reno said. "Don't jump down my throat." He and Rude walked to the door. "We'll be back tomorrow if anything happens. You know, if we get more oil drills up and ah...running."
"Goodbye Reno." Tifa said in a friendly voice despite how pissed off she was. Emphasizing words like run and jump would only upset Cloud where he was on crutches and she was trying to keep him in a good mood. Reno gave them a quick wave, opened the door, and walked out with Rude close behind.
Tifa stood there for a few minutes thinking about how to get back at Reno for being such a jerk. When she finally turned around, Cloud was using his crutches, trying to get up.
"Where do you think you're going? I'm not done yet." Tifa said as she put a hand on his shoulder. When Cloud turned back to her, he looked like he was on the verge of tears. He closed his eyes for a second, sighed, and sat back down in the chair making sure to put his leg back up on the chair where it had previously been resting.
"You know..." Tifa started as she resumed her previous job of cleaning the cut on his forehead. "Marlene and Denzel probably have hundreds of drawings like that. All they do all morning is sit and draw. You probably would have seen them before but you always start your deliveries early." Cloud didn't say anything. He just sat there and stared at the wall. "You should see it...it's like their morning ritual. After breakfast, they always sit at your desk and draw for a couple hours."
Suddenly, it was as if a cold hand gripped his heart. He always made his deliveries early so that he could have the rest of the day to do what he wanted. He always missed out on everything that happened at home. He wished that he could see some of the things that Tifa did. He wished that he could spend more time with Marlene and Denzel. "I've missed out on some stuff." Cloud said in a voice so quiet, she almost didn't hear it.
"Well." Tifa said as he put the washcloth back in the bowl. "You're gonna be stuck here for a while so you'll be able to make up for lost time."
Cloud winced. "Ahh." What was she doing to him? He pulled his head away. It didn't do any good though. Her hand never left his forehead. She gave the band aid she just put on it another firm rub making Cloud wince again.
"There." She said as she pulled her hand back. "All done." Cloud reached up and touched his forehead. It was a band aid. That's what she was doing. Either way, it still hurt and it gave his fading headache a VIP pass back into his body. It didn't really matter though. She cared for him plain and simple and he knew it too. He was thankful to have such a wonderful friend.
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The rest of the night was pretty quiet like Tifa had expected. It only took about a half hour to get Marlene and Denzel to sleep. Well, about a half hour after about a million questions about what happened to cloud.
When Tifa got back downstairs, Cloud was nowhere to be found. She quickly began scanning the room. Where could he have gone? It wasn't like he was the most mobile person in the world. His crutches kind of prevented that.
"Cloud." Tifa called out as she began to scan the room. "Cloud...where are you?" She was about to panic when she finally spotted him. He was in the room behind the bar. Tifa took a deep breath and let herself relax a little. He was sound asleep, getting the rest that he needed.
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How could this happen? Cloud thought as he stared at the still body of his close friend. How could this be happening? What am I gonna do now? Cloud could feel his heart ache as he slowly dragged himself to his feet using the giant buster sword as leverage for a second. "Goodnight." He turned around and was about to walk away but stopped. "Zack." He finished and slowly walked away.
"Cloud...wake up." Cloud looked around. Who said that? He didn't see anything or anyone. He ignored the voice and his thoughts and continued walking, dragging the heavy buster sword. "Come on Cloud...wake up." There was that voice again. It was so familiar. Suddenly, a stabbing pain in his side that sent him tumbling to his knees. He grabbed his side in pain as he gasped for air. What was going on? Where was the pain coming from.
"Cloud..." There was that voice again. Who was it? Where was it coming from?
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"Marlene...breakfast is ready." Tifa called out as she walked towards the stairs. She didn't get an answer which worried her a little. "Marlene?" She called out again.
"Tifa..." Tifa turned towards the bar. It was Marlene. She was in with Cloud. No wonder she couldn't find her.
"Marlene." Tifa said as she started walking towards the bar. Marlene was probably trying to wake Cloud up so that he could eat breakfast with the rest of them. If Marlene was in there trying wake him up, odds were that he was awake. Cloud had always been a light sleeper. "Marlene...what are you doing?" She finally got to the room where Marlene and Cloud were. She could see the worried look on Marlene's face. "What's wrong?"
Marlene frowned and looked down at the floor. "Cloud wont wake up." She looked up at Tifa with a sad look on her face. She was worried about Cloud and Tifa could tell.
"Don't worry about Cloud. He'll be okay." Tifa said with as mile on her face. "Breakfast is on the table. Better go heat before it gets cold." She continued, referring to the eggs and bacon that she had made for all of them. Marlene gave her a nod and walked out of the room to go and eat her breakfast.
Tifa sighed and walked over to the bed where Cloud was sleeping. Cloud was usually the first person up. He was usually up and off making deliveries before anyone else was even up. It wasn't like him to sleep in even when he wasn't feeling well.
"Cloud..." She said as she put a hand on his arm. "Come on Cloud...wake up." She gently wiggled his arm but instantly regretted it when she did.
Cloud squinted his eyes tight and moaned in pain. Tifa pulled her hand away instantly. He grabbed his side with one of his hands and moaned again.
"Cloud?" Tifa said as she watched him struggle with the pain.
Cloud opened his eyes. "I'm awake." He said in a weak voice. Something was wrong. It wasn't just him not waking up either. He looked pale and his skin looked clammy.
"Are you okay?" Tifa asked with a concerned look on her face. "You don't look so good."
"I'm fine." Cloud said as he sat up. Tifa's expression didnt chance at all. She didn't believe him. Cloud could tell she didn't believe him but he didn't want her to worry about him anymore. "Tifa...I'm fine." He repeated as he swung his legs out over the edge of the bed.
Tifa sighed. "Okay." She knew she wouldn't be able to get him to admit that he didn't feel good so she decided to give it up. She grabbed his crutches and stood them up in front of him. "Breakfast is waiting." He took the crutches from her and nodded. Without another word, she walked out so that she could eat her own breakfast.
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By the time Cloud made it out of the room, Marlene and Denzel had already finished their breakfast and ran off to go draw like they did the previous morning.
"I think your breakfast is cold." Tifa said as she wiped a plate off with a dishcloth. "You want me to warm it up before you eat it?"
Cloud sat down and looked at his plate for a second and then back up at Tifa. "No...It's fine." Honestly, the thought of eating turned his already queasy stomach. He didn't want to worry her and he didn't want to waste food. He picked up his fork and took a bite of his eggs. After he chewed it up and swallowed it, he sat there for a second to make sure that it would stay down. After he was confident enough about eating, he ate more.
After about half of his plate was empty, Cloud stopped suddenly. "Cloud?" Tifa said with a questioning, yet worried look on her face. She had her hand resting on a basin that she got out when cloud first woke up. "Hey Cloud...are you okay?" There was no answer from him.
Cloud closed his eyes as he fought to keep his breakfast down. "Cloud..." She repeated as she walked towards him. He knew that she was worried but honestly, what could she say. "Cloud." Her voice sounded more and more worried by the minute. "What's wrong?" She asked as she put a gently hand on his shoulder.
Cloud took a deep breath. "Tifa, I'm..." Suddenly, his gag reflexes took over. Tifa gently gripped his arm keeping him sitting upright. Cloud was going to tell her that he was fine when his stomach churned viciously making him gag again. "I think I'm gonna be sick." Cloud admitted as he grabbed his stomach to try and soothe it. When he saw that Tifa had the basin in her other hand, he grabbed it.
Almost instantly after Cloud got the basin under his head, he heaved spewing the contents of his stomach into the bottom.
Tifa didnt say anything. She knew it wouldn't do any good. She simply knelt down and rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe his trembling body as he got sick. I wish that I knew what was wrong with you so I could fix it.
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So there is chapter 2. I hope I didn't make Reno OOC too much. I don't really know much about him besides what I saw in Advent Children. I also hope that I didn't get too graphic with the last scene and Cloud getting sick. My friend said that it was too graphic for her but I thought it turned out okay. Also, the whole dream thing isnt exactly to what it was in Crisis Core. It is changed mostly because Cloud is kind of dreaming and getting bits of Marlene trying to wake him up at the same time. The whole Cloud getting sick thing will be explained eventually.