(Author's Note: Here's the second chapter, and a new step in Cloud and Tifa's relationship! Credit for the idea behind this one goes to CK - Ace. Thanks for the review! This one's for you! Remember folks, the more ideas you give, the more chapters this will have. Give me something to write!)
...You Caught Me Staring
The other kids were playing by the water tower. As a piece of playground equipment, it was entirely unsafe. It had bolts. Metal beams. Splinters from the wooden platform sprinkled the anyone standing below. It dripped water. It smelled slightly musty. And it always had a tendency to groan ominously under heavy winds. Any safety officer that saw it and the children swarming around the base would start frothing at the mouth in sheer horror.
But as a solid structure that was conveniently placed within eye-shot of every household window (and the watchful mothers behind them) that could also stand up to the abuse of mountain weather and child play, it was perfect. There was some unexplainable appeal to the shadowy, cool dank under the water tower that somehow had a taste of adventure to it, albeit with a slightly musty undertone. But that's why you didn't breath too hard under there anyway.
That water tower had stood strong and unmoving as it witnessed countless battles, life-and-death struggles, innumerable dragons slaughtered and wicked kings overthrown, all of which went through a rotation a few times a week. All the children loved playing on and around that old water tower and could almost always be found scampering around it in whatever drama happened to be taking place that day.
Except for Cloud, that is.
He seldom went outside and played with the others. More often, he was to be found making small forts out of twigs and stones by himself while the others romped in good fun. Child's play was no place for a fatherless outcast. Play could be, in fact, quite dangerous, especially when involving the young hearts and capricious minds of children. So Cloud played smart and safe.
And alone.
Today however, Cloud wasn't entertaining himself outside with yet another elaborate fort. Today, he was indulging in his most recent pastime: Watching Tifa.
It wasn't like he was doing anything creepy. People watching is actually considered a viable past-time in the big cities and some will even insist that its a sport, of a kind. It was perfectly legal and natural to simply observe the most infinitely varying and fascinating human animal.
Not that the blond five-year-old knew anything about that. All he knew was that he liked Tifa... and so did everyone else. And therein lie the problem.
He couldn't get close to her. The others made it a point of shutting him out of their play and especially shutting down all his attempts to get near Tifa. They knew he liked her and they didn't want anymore competition than they already had between the four of them.
Tifa, for her part, didn't even know about the others' calculated and jealous plan against him. They went to great lengths to make sure they did nothing too overt, lest she catch them and soundly scold them for it. Maybe even tackle them and put worms in their hair until they apologized.
Seriously. She'd done it once already.
It was one of the things about her that he found so amazing, that he liked about her so much.
Tifa wouldn't allow any form of petty cruelty be committed around her. And if the perpetrators wouldn't stop at her behest, she could make them stop.
Unfortunately, she couldn't stop what she didn't see. So the silent campaign to keep Cloud away from her continued with great success. Tifa always turned that thousand-watt smile on him when he could get close enough, but sadly those occasions were few and far in between.
So Cloud settled for the next best thing: Watching.
He knelt in front of his bedroom window on the second floor of the small house he shared with his mother. The only thing that kept his nose from pressing against the glass was a pair of old military binoculars his mother said had belonged to his father. The binoculars were old and worn, the textured plastic worn smooth by countless years of use, the glass slightly yellowed. But they still worked fine, slightly creaking with a rustic kind of military hardiness when he adjusted the focus.
The glass lenses were currently trained on Tifa, newly turned five years old a week ago. She wore a pair of torn blue-jeans - ideal for playtime - and a green shirt that had a crowned frog on it. She sat on the water-tower platform, a horrifying six feet off the ground, and brandished her cardboard tube sword.
She didn't just wave it around in the air like a kid trying to scratch the sky with a crayon. She actually brandished it, flicking the tip of her weapon through the air with delicate movements of her wrist, a natural grace and elegance she didn't have to pretend to have. A boy clambered up the wide supports of the tower, and Tifa gave challenge to the intruder. Cloud couldn't hear what she said, but he'd seen enough of these dramas to have a good idea.
"You won't get the prince!" she shouted, whirling the tube in her hand. The boy attempted to copy Tifa's move, but his brandishing almost made him clumsily drop the weapon. Tifa graciously allowed him to get a good grip on his weapon before engaging him in combat.
Cloud grinned, eyes glued to the drama unfolding before him. Sitting on the top of the squat tower itself, hundreds of gallons sloshing beneath him, the youngest boy in town watched the female paladin defend him with her life, an estatic grin on his face.
Tifa never played the role of helpless damsel, if she could help it. Where was the fun in that? No, she much preferred protecting those that actually needed the protection, and Tommy was perfect for such a role.
"Ha!" Tifa cried, whacking the boy across the belly with the tube. "Back, evil doer!"
The boy appropriately gasped and collapsed on the ledge, his body limp, letting his cardboard tube dangle from his hand, before falling to the ground below.
Cloud loved watching her when she was like this. Her cheeks were faintly flushed from the exertion of play and her big, dark eyes glittered with energy and sheer joy. She fairly hummed with the vibrancy of life that wasn't to be found anywhere else in the stuffy old town.
Tifa flipped her glossy hair imperiously, sheathing the tube in a nonexistent scabbard and turned... just as one of the two boys sneaking up behind her lightly struck her left arm. Tifa gasped and - as the rules of the game dictated - she tucked her arm behind her back. The tube appeared in her hand like magic and she struck out against her attackers. It was of no use - she couldn't take them both on while trapped on the ledge, with no safe way to back up. This wouldn't end well. "Run, prince!" she shouted. "I'll hold them off!"
Tommy vanished from sight and reappeared a moment later, descending the ladder with speed and dexterity that would make a monkey envious. He zipped toward the front door of the modest, small-town store, which had been designated the safe zone.
An older boy dashed toward Tommy from his hiding spot behind some trashcans. Tifa gave voice to a victory cry as one of the two facing her went down, mortally wounded by a thrust to the belly.
The boy pursuing Tommy swung his cardboard sword wide but Tifa had been teaching the younger boy a few tricks, and the kid rolled underneath it easily. Tommy sprang to his feet and was on the move while the older boy was still trying to figure out where Tommy had gone.
Tifa yelled in defeat, dramatically collapsing to her knees and dropping her weapon, just as Tommy sprinted to the store and slapped a hand on the door, panting heavily and grinning from ear to ear.
Cloud stood up, holding his breath, the binoculars trained on Tifa's still, lifeless form.
"We won!" Tommy cheered once he had enough breath.
Tifa sprang to life, laughing. "That's five out of seven!" The boy that struck her down a few seconds ago bent over and helped her to her feet. She stood on the ledge, feet spread, arms akimbo. "Let's go again!"
A chorus of "Awww, Tifa," answered her from the others.
"Let's play something else," said one boy, Ryan. "You're too good at this one."
Tifa made a face at them and muttered something under her breath that Cloud couldn't make out.
Then her dark eyes flicked up to his bedroom window and looked right at him, watching her with his binoculars. A small, knowing smile touched her lips.
Oh crap.
She saw him!
He froze for a second, his heart not even beating as a million thoughts went racing through his head (should he wave? Smile back? Keep watching? Pan the binoculars like he'd just been watching everyone and not just her? Oh crap, ohcrapohcrapohcrap!) and finally settled for the most obvious one - hide.
Cloud dropped to the floor, almost braining himself with the binoculars as he hit the deck like a true veteran. He pressed his cheek to the floor, heart racing and breathing hard from the adrenaline rush.
"Cloud?" His mother's voice drifted from upstairs. "What was that noise?"
He winced, hating to do anything that might otherwise indicate that he was even in the room for the past three hours, but he had to answer. "N-nothing!"
"Alright..." She didn't sound convinced, but didn't push the matter.
After a few moments, Cloud allowed himself to breathe. He rolled onto his back and laughed a little, low and nervous. She'd seen him. She'd caught him staring at her through those clunky army binoculars. And she had smiled.
Wait... had she really smiled? He closed his eyes and pressed the heel of his hands to them. The image of that small, knowing smile on Tifa's face flashed past his eyes in perfect clarity. She had to have seen him. But she just smiled. Did that mean she didn't mind? That she thought he was funny? That she was flattered?
Or maybe it meant that she was onto him and if he did anything more than watch her, she'd kick his butt so badly, he wouldn't be able to sit for a week. Cloud gulped. He didn't doubt that she could do it, too.
For the second time that day, he held his breath, ears straining. He couldn't hear anything from outside but a distant rumble of thunder. Had the others started playing again? What was going on?
Maybe he should check. Just a quick peek, nothing too obvious. Not like he was going to keep watching or anything. Just... act cool. Right. He crawled over to his door and stood up, well out of sight of the window. Acting as nonchalantly as he could, he strolled over to the window like nothing had happened.
Yup. Nothing going on here. He totally had not been standing in the window and staring at Tifa for the past three hours. No way.
He lost his nerve halfway across the room. Licking suddenly dry lips, he got down on his hands and knees and crawled the rest of the way.
Very, very slowly, he peeked over the window ledge, blue eyes automatically going to where they'd last seen Tifa...
...To find her sitting on the ledge, legs crossed at the ankles and swinging below her freely while she twirled her cardboard tube.
And she was still looking up at him, a wide grin on her face.
Cloud flinched so hard, his forehead hit the window sill.
"Ow!" He slapped a hand to his head as he fell back on his carpet. "Ow ow ow!" Okay, yeah, that really smarted. He spent the next few moments berating himself.
Way to be graceful, Cloud.
Great way to give a good impression. There's no way she'd think he was a freak now. Way cool moves there.
While he rubbed his aching forehead and congratulated himself on being very suave, he heard the raised voices of several parents, all of them calling for their children to get in the house, right now. Another rumble of thunder came on the heels of the commands. Cloud risked another peek out the window just in time to see the other kids scattering, dashing toward their respective homes.
Storms in Nibelheim were always the same: Long and hard. It never rained, it poured. Thunder never growled, it roared. Mountain towns were small and tough because they had to be, just like the people that lived in them. No one let themselves be caught out in a storm, not if they couldn't absolutely help it.
Playtime was over.
He sighed and pulled the strap for the binoculars over his head, tossing them onto his bed. He was about to turn away from the window when something caught his eye. He leaned closer, squinting through the gathering gloom.
It was Tifa's cardboard tube, falling from the wooden ledge on the water tower to the ground. As he watched, it rolled a short ways before stopping in a low spot.
He glanced up at the dark clouds overhead. The tube would be nothing more than a soggy mess if left to the gentle mercies of the storm. Cloud straightened up, frowning, and ran his hands through his unruly mop of spikes.
"It's just a cardboard tube," he muttered.
Yeah, sure it was. All the kids had one and didn't worry about it when the slender tubes were destroyed or lost. The store owner, Mr. McHuge, gave them out freely - they came with the packaging of goods and supplies that came through every month. Even Cloud had two, practicing with them behind the house in private, preparing for the day when he'd join in their game by besting them at it. He'd gone through several of the things himself, in his practicing. The loss of a cardboard tube was no loss.
But it was Tifa's cardboard tube. She'd even painted a little flower on it to identify it as hers.
The image of her standing contemptuously over her fallen opponent came back to him. He recalled vividly the way she'd flipped her hair over her shoulder imperiously, truly brandishing her weapon with ease.
Never mind that Tifa would just go to the Mr. McHugh and get a new one tomorrow. What would a paladin be without a proper weapon?
Cloud went downstairs, acting with his usual calm and poise as if there was nothing going on. His mother stood at the stove, stirring something that smelled absolutely delicious while she hummed a song in her low, beautiful voice.
Good. She was distracted. He should be able to get out and return the tube before she ever noticed he was gone.
He ghosted over to the door and put a hand on the knob.
"Where are you going, sweety?"
It's true, you know. Mothers do have eyes on the back of their head. Either that, or they have psychic powers, like in the movies. He wasn't quite sure yet. Probably both.
He turned his head slightly to look at her over his shoulder. She was still gliding around the kitchen, preparing dinner effortlessly. She glanced at him with her own rich blue eyes, and arched a delicate golden eyebrow. "Hmmm?"
"I forgot something outside. I'm just going to get it."
She nodded. "Just be back before the storm hits, okay?"
"Okay."
She turned back to the stew, humming something low and sweet.
Cloud slipped outside and jogged over to the forgotten tube, looking forlorn and dismal in the shadow of the tower. He picked it up and walked over to Tifa's house, right next door to his, taking his time about it. As he walked, he ran his hands down the length of the tube. It had the soft, almost fuzzy feel to it that cardboard gets from lots of handling. Soft, almost.
He judged it to be perfect for her.
Cloud knocked on the door. There were faint sounds for a few seconds, then the door opened, and Mrs. Lockhart stood in the doorway. She blinked at him for a moment, surprised, then smiled at him. Suddenly, he knew where Tifa had gotten her dazzling smile. "Hello there, Cloud! Did your mom need more eggs?"
Cloud frowned slightly. He didn't know anything about eggs. They had been eating pretty well lately... had mom been borrowing that food?
He shook his head, both as answer to Ms. Lockhart's question, and to rid himself of the unsettling thought. "Um, no thank you, Mrs. Lockhart. Tifa forgot this outside." He held up the tube.
"Oh, why thank you so much for saving it for her." She took the tube from him with gentle fingers. "Tifa's washing up for dinner, but I'll tell her you brought it for her."
"Thanks. Um..." Cloud paused, fingers knotting in the hem of his shirt.
Mrs. Lockhart's smile grew. "I'll tell her you said hi."
He sighed, visibly relaxing. "Thanks. I, um, should go back home."
"Okay." She started closing the door. "Good to see you again, Cloud."
Cloud shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked back to his house. Halfway there, the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he turned around, looking up at Tifa's bedroom window.
Tifa hit the floor with as much speed and grace as he had earlier, dropping flat after a frozen second of panic. Her elbow must've hit the telescope she'd been using to watch him because it swung at a crazy angle, pointing directly at garden below. Tifa did not reappear.
He smiled and started walking again. When he had a hand on doorknob of his house, he once more looked directly at her window. This time, only a flash of movement gave her away as she ducked her head down again.
Grinning, Cloud went inside and fairly skipped up to his room in his joy. Once there, he retrieved the two cardboard tubes he kept hidden under his bed and started practicing with them fiercely. Soon, very soon, he would join in their game. He wouldn't put it off any longer. All the doubts that had plagued him, prevented from making his move, were gone, banished by one simple truth.
The whole time he'd been watching her, all the months and weeks and hours each day... she'd been watching back.
