Disclaimer: I don't own anything; FFVII belongs to SquareEnix :)
Author's note: Thank you so much for the reviews. Here's chapter 2!
Chapter 2: Welcome Home
"Welcome home!" Marlene squealed delightfully, holding Tifa's hand tightly. She guided the woman up the stairs and into Seventh Heaven.
"This is...home?" Tifa murmured, glancing in awe.
"Yep!" Denzel nodded happily.
"Wow..." The once-martial artist stood still, grasping in her "home." Her ruby eyes sparkled as they scanned past bottles of wine, whiskey, brandy, beer... "I'm not a drunkard, am I?"
"Of course you weren't, silly!" Marlene giggled. "You're the barmaid! Of Seventh Heaven!"
"Seventh...Heaven?"
"That's the name of the bar," Cloud said, Mako-blue eyes steadying on the woman. "Our bar."
Tifa's red eyes glistened. "The name...rings a bell...though I can't recall it clearly..."
She flinched suddenly as her hands flew to her temples.
"Tifa!" The other three clambered toward the woman, worried expressions on their faces.
"Are you all right?" Cloud asked, hands on her shoulders in concern.
"I-I'm...fine," Tifa glanced up, reservedness in her eyes. She shook Cloud's hands off her nervously and quickly turned to the young girl beside her. "Um, M-Marlene, why don't you take me to m-my room? I-I'm...feeling rather tired."
"Sure!" Oblivious to what had just happened, the young brunette clutched Tifa's offering hand and climbed the stairs behind a door. Denzel followed them.
Meanwhile, Cloud stared at his open palms, fingers trembling slightly. He frowned. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected this. After all, the brain damage the collision had done to her...Now she didn't know who she was, where she was, what happened, everything. She didn't recognize anyone. Not Marlene, not Denzel, not Barret, not Yuffie, not Cloud...Not even me, her fiance. I'm a complete stranger to her now...He hated the word. Stranger. Just temporary, the doctor had said. It'll be all right. I just need to...take things slowly, as Barret said. With newly found determination, he ascended the stairs, only to find Tifa standing in the hallway, in front of the door leading to...Tifa and Cloud's shared room. The blonde sighed bitterly.
"I...sleep here?" Tifa spoke softly, with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah," Cloud replied behind her. He brushed past the woman and into the room, catching a whiff of honey emitting from her long silky hair.
Tifa gazed around the room with the two beds; one with blue-and-white stripes, the other with pastel flowers. A wooden nightstand separate the two beds. On the wooden surface sat a simple table lamp and a photograph of Cloud and Tifa, dressed in a handsome black suit and a silky white wedding gown respectively, arms wrapped around each other, with bright smiles on their pure faces.
An awkward silence followed, all four of them fully aware that something was bound to change, that Tifa wasn't entirely comfortable sleeping in the same room with a man she did not quite "know"...
"Well, Tifa and Denzel could switch beds!" Marlene suggested gleefully. "J-just - temporarily," she added hastily, catching Cloud's flashing glare.
"That's a great idea!" Denzel piped up. No, it's not! He faced Cloud, deep azure eyes sparkling with excitement. "We could have boys' talk every night!"
The older man frowned slightly. What about my "pillow talk" with Tifa?
"Umm, it's just for now, Cloud." Marlene reached for the man's clenched fist. "And," she whispered, pulling Cloud downward, "do it for Tifa's sake! She wouldn't want to be sleeping in the same room with a stranger -"
"I'm not a stranger," the blonde hissed defensively, brows furrowing.
"Cloud!" the little girl puffed her chest and folded her arms. Her action reminded him so very much of a certain flower girl...
The chocobo-head thought for a moment and sighed sourly. "Well, I don't have a choice, do I..."
"Great!" Marlene turned to Tifa, beaming. "Tifa, let's go make your bed! Denzel, you need to help too!"
Tifa merely smiled and left the room. The children followed. Sighing deeply, Cloud gazed longingly after the woman, then at the opposite bed with the flowery bed linen. He could still smell the sweet scent of honey lingering in the air. His inner man instinct yearned and screamed in anguish. This is going to be a lot tougher than I thought.
It was just past midnight. Cloud sat alone by the bar counter, legs dangling from the stool. A glass of ice-cold Corel wine sat in front of him. He sipped it silently, pondering over the past few days. Merely a day after they'd received the wedding photos, Tifa had fell into a coma and ended up suffering from amnesia. All because she was trying to save me from that damn boulder. He'd failed to save her. Yet again.
"Why...am I so weak...?" Cloud buried his face in his hands frustratingly.
It was only weeks ago since they took their wedding photos at the beautiful Costa Del Sol. Their wedding day was in six months. Everything was going well. Cloud was happy. Tifa was happy. Head turning to the back of the bar, he gazed at the large frame, rewrapped messily in tissue paper. It was their wedding photo - the big one, the one they were planning to hang in the center of their room, above the king-sized bed which would be delivered a few days before the wedding day. The big day. His insides squirmed.
Thump thump thump. Sound of footsteps emitted from the closed door leading to the second floor. Cloud glanced wearily at the door, expecting to see Marlene or Denzel appear behind it. But he gaped, when the door opened.
Tifa. Wearing that silky blue night gown of hers and nothing else; that very same night gown she always wore instead of normal pajamas; that very same night gown that contrasted sharply with her pale porcelain skin; that very same night gown that outlined her curves and slender figure; that very same night gown that reminded him heart-throbbingly of those wondrous nights...Cloud gulped down the burning sensation in his throat that had nothing to do with the alcohol.
A small gasp issued from the woman's lips as she realized the man was sitting there. "Uh, hi, C-Cloud..." she stammered. Consciously aware that she was wearing nothing but a thin fabric, she tried desperately to hide herself in the dark shadows. "Umm...j-just getting a-a glass of water..." she squeaked, moving slowly toward the kitchen.
"Oh," Cloud stood up from the counter. "I'll help you." His sudden movement panicked the woman.
"N-no, it's okay, I-I'll get it myself-" Quickening her steps, Tifa hurried behind the counter and grabbed a jug of water. Her back facing Cloud, she started filling water into a glass.
Cloud couldn't help but stare. And stare was all he did. He always marveled at how women could stay warm in such a thin piece of fabric, just barely covering the chest and no more than the thighs. The silk dipped lower at the backside, exposing flawless skin and well-toned shoulder blades. He felt the woman drain down her glass of water as quickly as she could, returning to the shadows seconds later.
"Uhm, g-good night," Tifa smiled softly.
She started toward the door, her silky night gown and long brown dolphin-tail flowing serenely behind her. As she brushed past the man by the counter, he inhaled a deep scent of honey...He could see practically everything behind that thin silk...It was enough to rouse the sleeping devil inside of him...
"Tifa -" His muscular arms snaked themselves around Tifa's slender waist.
The woman gasped. "Cloud?! No-C-Cloud-no!" She tried to push the strong arms away from her.
"Tifa, I miss you so much -" His lips were on her collar bone.
"Stop it-Cloud-"
"I was so worried about you -"
"N-no Cloud-stop-NO-STOP IT!"
A steel punch and a body-shivering crack.
Tifa gasped, staring dumbfounded at her clenched right fist, where bits of blood appeared at her knuckles. Apparently, she forgot she had such power in her.
"Ohmigawd," the woman stared wildly at Cloud, "ohmigawd-ohmigawd-a-are you-are you okay?"
Gleaming red blood splattered down Cloud's front. He covered his nose with one bloodied hand, while waving frantically with his other. "I-I'm fine - don' worry 'bout me -" he spluttered. His face was on fire. Screw it, what have I done?!
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm-so-sorry!" Tifa threw tissues at the man's broken nose. "I-don't-know-you!" she cried.
It hurt. It really did. The broken nose was bad enough, but hearing those four words - "I don't know you" - hurt even more. He'd rather suffer a broken nose a million times (no, impale by Sephiroth's Masamune) than hear those words. Those stinking, stinging, hurting words.
"C-Cloud..?!" Tifa muttered, ruby eyes wide with fear.
"Uhm-I'm-fine," he breathed through his mouth, "you-should-go-bed-I'm-sorry-my-fault-I'm-I'm-okay." He made an "okay" gesture with his non-bloodied hand and gazed at the bewildered martial artist. Once a martial artist, always a martial artist...
"Umm, o-okay," Tifa nodded shakily, "umm, I-I'll go to bed now...I-I'm...I'm sorry!" With that, she clambered up the stairs, closing the door between them.
Since that very first night, Cloud never ever encountered Tifa again during his "midnight drinking" sessions, at least not until many months later. Indeed, there would be many more lonely nights to come.
Author's note: Ouch. Poor Cloud…!