Chapter Two: Patches
It was a six day drive from Junon to Edge in the average car, though with Cloud behind the wheel that could be more than halved. Even with all the work the WRO had done it still wasn't safe in the mountains between the two cities, so when Cloud stopped for gas at the last available station and pushed on through the night, Tifa didn't say anything. An odd silence permeated the pick-up; glancing in the wing mirror, she could see Denzel slouched in his seat, staring pensively out the window.
The sky was a deep blue with stars like pinpricks of pale light, against which the headlights had almost no effect. Cloud didn't seem to mind, however; she could see his eyes scanning the landscape methodically, the blue glow lending an odd gleam to the interior of the cab. They'd lost the radio signal from Junon after the first foothills, had eaten the last snacks not long after that, and now there was really nothing to do but sleep.
But, like Denzel behind her, Tifa found that she couldn't just nod off, rocked by the shaky suspension. Her thoughts hovered somewhere between the chill of the mountain night and the last blare of a rapidly shrinking cargo ship. She hoped Marlene fared better at ocean travel than Yuffie did. It was so strange to think that they were heading back to Edge – back home – without the fourth member of their patchwork family. The seat behind Cloud was too quiet; she could sense it even with her back turned. She half-wished Cloud would slow down so she wouldn't have to face the empty bar, childish pictures stuck to the fridge with tape and a girly pink hairbrush perpetually on the work surface because Marlene just wouldn't put it ...
The brush had been packed in her carry-on holdall, as had her hair ties, her toothbrush, her favourite doll... It didn't matter how many times Tifa told herself that this was only temporary, a vacation for Marlene to spend with Barret before the school year started again, she couldn't help but miss her already.
"Cloud," Denzel murmured. Cloud cocked his head, the only outward sign of acknowledgment. "How long does it take to get to Wutai?" Tifa smiled slightly to herself; Denzel had asked the question about ten times during the week, and would probably ask Cloud ten times again.
"About twenty-one days, depending on the weather," he answered evenly, without even a hint that the repetition was noted.
"Do they have good phone reception there?"
"Yes."
"Do they speak the same as us?"
"Most people do."
"Is there a lot of crime?"
"No more than in Edge."
"Is –"
"Denzel," Tifa interjected gently, "we've still got a long way to go. Why don't you try to get some sleep, hm?"
"Fine," he huffed. She shared a small look with Cloud as Denzel could be heard wriggling around behind them until he was suitably comfortable. "G'night," he muttered.
"'Night," Tifa replied. She listened to his breathing deepen, knowing Cloud was doing the same, until they were both sure he was asleep mere minutes later. It had been a long drive from Edge, and a tiring day to cap it off; Denzel was obviously exhausted.
Tifa heaved a sigh and slouched deeper into her seat. Without saying a word, or even glancing away from the darkened scenery, Cloud reached across to hold her hand in his. Tifa smiled at him and squeezed back. She'd spent so much of the last few years trying to get Cloud to open up and talk to her that it surprised her when sometimes – in a borrowed truck driving through the mountains during the middle of the night – they didn't need words to communicate.
He had to retract his arm in order to steer the car around some hairpin turns on the steep slope into the next valley. Somewhere down there under the moon was their half-way point. Maybe the Turks would be there this time. It would be nice to see familiar faces again.
"How long until we reach Healin?" she asked softly. Cloud raised one shoulder in a shrug.
"Another six hours, at least," he said. She could hear the tiredness bleed a little into his voice, now that Denzel wasn't listening in.
"You want me to drive when the sun comes up?" Tifa asked. She knew that even her martial arts reflexes would not fair against sheer cliffs and blind corners in the pitch of night.
"I'll be fine," Cloud answered, causing her to roll her eyes. She would hate his stubbornness, if it wasn't also something she loved about him. "You should rest," he said, "if you're going to drive later." He shot her a look.
"Fine," Tifa said in a fair approximation of Denzel's tone. Cloud stretched his arm along the back of the benchseat, an open invitation for Tifa to curl up next to him if ever there was one. Nestled against his side with her head on his shoulder, she found she was tired enough to ignore the slight ripeness to his scent after five days on the road. His extraordinary body heat warded off the chill better than a blanket, and it wasn't long before she was drooling on his shoulder, unaware of Cloud's slightly rueful smile.
She wasn't asleep long, by her reckoning, but the sun was just stretching pink fingers over the horizon when she next opened her eyes. She'd somehow managed to manoeuvre herself during the night so that her head was resting on Cloud's thigh, her legs pressed awkwardly against the door. There was a painful crick in her neck, but it was worth it when she realised Cloud's fingers were playing with her hair. Peeking carefully up at his face, she thought he probably didn't even realise what he was doing, and couldn't help but grin. Awake as she was, however, she couldn't stand the painful position and had to sit up. Her spine cracked when she stretched with a yawn.
"Morning," Denzel grumped from behind.
"Good morning," she replied, turning in her seat. There were shadows under his eyes, and his hair somewhat resembled Cloud's unruly spikes. "How long have you been up?"
"Not long," was the short answer. At fourteen, Denzel was well into that stage when boys and mornings go together like oil and water. Suppressing a weary smile, Tifa decided to give Denzel time to wake up and acquire a better mood, though she had her doubts that he would ever find it now that Marlene was gone for the summer.
"How much further to Healin?" she asked Cloud. If it wasn't for the pale light of dawn, high up in the second range of mountains between them and their destination, it could have easily been an echo of the night before.
They'd spent too long on the road, in her honest opinion.
"About an hour," Cloud said. He arched his spine, discreetly so that Denzel wouldn't see; Tifa felt knotted up herself, without having spent the last five-and-a-bit days behind the wheel. She knew Cloud had driven for much longer periods without rest, without someone to swap with, but it still couldn't be anywhere near comfortable or easy for the body.
"Can we get out for a stretch?" she asked. Cloud blinked slowly, as if in deep consideration.
"Sure," he said. Tifa put her hand on the door handle, but they kept moving.
"Cloud," Tifa said.
"Hmm?"
"That means you have to stop the car." She shot a dry look at his bemused expression, but was secretly pleased that he was up to joking despite his tiredness, especially when Denzel smothered a laugh in the backseat.
"I guess," Cloud said doubtfully, and pulled the pick-up to a halt. His face was completely deadpan. Tifa stretched her fingers towards the sky as soon as she was out of the vehicle, and took a huge gulping breath of the fresh mountain air. The chill brought goosebumps to her skin, but it felt so good to be free of the confines of the car she didn't really mind.
"Here Tifa," Denzel said from the other side of open door, holding out a bottle of water. Tifa took it with a smile of thanks. It was almost icy, after being in the open back of the pick-up all night, and she had to suck the cold from her teeth afterwards. Denzel snorted at her pinched expression.
"We shouldn't stay here long," Cloud said suddenly. He was stood by the back of the pick-up, body alert but not tense. Tifa took comfort in the fact that the Ultima Weapon was still resting under a tarp in the truck.
"Cloud?" Denzel asked uncertainly. Tifa reached for her fighting gloves just in case, as the strange stillness heightened her battle senses.
"It's fine for now," Cloud reassured them both, "but these are nesting grounds. So just ... do what you gotta do, and we'll get going." With a warning like that, Tifa was quick to shoo Denzel towards a tree that would serve as a urinal, and made for a small thicket herself, toilet roll clutched self-consciously in one hand. There was nothing like traveling on the open road, she thought with a wry twist to her lips.
The air was thick with the distinctive tang of gasoline by the time she returned. Cloud tossed an empty barrel into the back of the truck with a clang, throwing the plastic tubing in carelessly afterwards. Denzel ambled over from the tree with his hands in his pocket and a smirk on his face that he couldn't hide. Tifa met Cloud's eyes over the car and they shared an amused smile.
"All set, Denzel?" she asked.
"Yup," he said, and slid into his seat. She climbed into the front passenger space, slamming the door at the same time as Cloud. The engine ticked over reluctantly before grumbling to life. Cloud wound down his window, and the wind blew in to ruffle the stubborn spikes of his hair. Tifa watched him out of the corner of her eye as they drove off: one hand on the wheel, the other dangling outside the door, eyes alert as they resumed their dedicated observation of the land. Even though Denzel was glum again in the backseat, and Marlene was half an ocean away, these things couldn't stop the bashful, girlish smile that appeared on her lips when Cloud caught her staring. He looked away just as quickly as she did, but when she glanced back, she thought she saw a slight flush to his cheeks, and that made her grin all the more.
In the split second it took for her battle senses to sing to life, faster than any civilian and most soldiers could hope for, Cloud had grabbed her around the waist with one arm and pulled her flush against his side as her window imploded. Sharp talons scrabbled to grip the door, uncaring of the large shards of glass still protruding upwards like stalagmites.
"Tifa!" Cloud shook her slightly whilst veering the truck violently to the right to shake off their attacker.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Tifa gasped. Her heart was racing in her chest, but the adrenaline that gushed through her veins was more than enough to blink away the shock, sharpening her senses in a rush of familiarity.
"You drive," Cloud ordered shortly, and ducked out through his open window. The engine screamed when she slammed the gas back on, wrenching the wheel sharply to the left to avoid a tree.
"Cloud!" Denzel cried, scrabbling for the window.
"Stay down!" Tifa barked in a tone of voice she doubted Denzel had ever heard her use before. She swerved the car again in the hope of throwing off the monster's next attack, checking very briefly in the rearview mirror. Cloud was nowhere to be seen, and for a second Tifa's heart threatened to choke her, before he clambered into view and shot a dirty look into the car. Then he was out of sight again, heavy boots clumping on the roof, and it was all Tifa could do to grip the wheel tight and hope there were no hairpin turns coming up. At the speed they were going, it would be a very long flight off the edge of the mountain.
The hairs on Tifa's arms suddenly stood on end, an electrical tingle dancing along her nerves as Cloud charged a spell that crackled through air. She heard it blast into the screaming monster, tasted sizzling flesh on the back of her tongue. She barely flinched when the roof dented over her head as Cloud launched. It wasn't hard to imagine him soaring through the air, Ultima Weapon wielded in both hands, slicing into the stunned creature. Sure enough, there came a high-pitched roar of pain, and the suspension bounced under Cloud's landing in the back of the truck. Tifa smiled at his reflection.
"Look out!" Denzel cried. Only her sharpened reflexes kept Tifa from plowing straight into the misshapen beast waiting in their path. The tires flung dust and grit in all directions as the car swerved, and Tifa could only spare a quick silent apology for Cloud as she heard him tumble in the back. She had to fight to keep the car moving, crunching the clutch and pressing viciously on the gas pedal. The truck wasn't built for this kind of movement; it shuddered and lurched into forward motion just as the monster began its charge on their position.
"Go left!" Cloud yelled. Tifa spun the wheel, flinging Denzel halfway across the backseat. The beast roared – and was echoed by a second. Her stomach plummeted. A quick glance in the rearview mirror showed Cloud as he leapt out of the truck. The back tires skidded from the motion.
"Cloud!" Denzel's face was pressed to the glass window, watching as Cloud tore across the open ground between himself and the approaching monsters. Narrowing her eyes, Tifa swerved the pick-up until it was almost flush against a sheer cliff face and slammed the breaks. She turned to face Denzel.
"Stay here," she said, and was out the door before he could argue.
The two flying monsters had teamed up to defeat Cloud. Whilst one attacked with dizzying speed from the ground, the other flew overhead, using the distance to shoot spells at their enemy. The Ultima Weapon was barely a blur as it attacked and defended. Tifa knew she wouldn't reach the fight in time to make much of a difference, as clearly Cloud had the upper hand, but the adrenaline singing in her veins called for blood. Leaping into the air, she pulled her fist back and caught the flying monster in an attack it never saw coming. The shock of the punch reverberated up her arm, but she shook it off and landed with feline grace. Her enemy tumbled out of the air, shrieking as Cloud's sword skewered it straight through the middle. Its massive wings twitched once before falling still. Cloud slid it off the Ultima Weapon next to its companion, two gory heaps on the mountainside.
"Are you okay?" he asked, taking a step towards her. Tifa smiled and shook her hair from her eyes.
"Didn't even break a sweat," she said. He nodded, already heading back to the pick-up. Denzel's shaggy hair disappeared from the window, and Tifa suppressed a sigh; he would probably be moody that he hadn't been able to do anything, as if anyone would expect a fourteen-year-old boy to take part in a fight against two bloodthirsty monsters. She guessed all boys were like that, and shot a wry look at Cloud's retreating figure.
Rolling her shoulders to shake off the last of the fight, Tifa reached the truck just as Cloud finished wiping monster blood from his sword and stowed it back under the tarp. As predicted, Denzel was slouched in his seat with arms crossed and a petulant expression on his face. Tifa busied herself sweeping the broken glass out as best she could, placing a folded blanket where she would sit to cover any small bits she had missed. The engine turned over at the second attempt after Cloud's withering glare, and they were back on the poor excuse for a road as if nothing had happened.
They picked up cell reception half an hour from Healin; Tifa had a few messages about the bar, including one from the jerk who had bought out her supplier of ale and hiked the cost three times in the last month. She would have to start looking for another supplier when she got back. There were few other vehicles parked outside the large white lodge, and their's was definitely the worst off.
"How long are we staying for?" Tifa asked when Cloud switched the engine off. Denzel yawned widely behind them, sliding out of the car to grab his stuff from the rear.
"I've got a delivery to Kalm when I get back," Cloud said as he flipped his phone shut. Tifa translated that to mean they needed to get back on the road soon. She would be driving the next leg, at least until the sun set on these treacherous mountain trails.
"Alright. We can probably just sleep in the lobby, then." There were couches that were comfy enough, and Healin was exceedingly quiet even at its busiest. Mostly Tifa just wanted to be horizontal for a few hours without being jolted by potholes.
Denzel led the way inside. It was kind of stuffy after breathing the brisk mountain air for the last couple of days. However, as soon as Tifa spotted the two couches arranged in an adjacent room, she decided she really didn't care. Cloud and Denzel made their way over, leaving her to deal with the receptionist. The gentleman was surprisingly understanding of their situation, refusing to take the payment Tifa offered. She was too tired to argue, and quickly followed the other two into the adjoining room.
Sprawled across the couch he had obviously claimed for himself, Denzel was already fast asleep. Tifa gently removed his shoes and covered him with the blanket Cloud passed her. She flopped into the loveseat next to him, stretching her aching legs after being cooped up in the truck for so long. As he had in the car, Cloud left his arm on the back of the couch, an invitation to curl up if she wanted. Sometimes she loved him so much her heart hurt with it.
"I told the guy at the front we'd only stay a few hours," she murmured when she was settled with her head on his chest, not quite horizontal but close enough to count. "He let us stay for free." Cloud made a noncommittal noise in his throat. Tifa sighed, rubbed her face deeper into his sweater. They really needed to shower. "I'll drive next."
"Go to sleep," Cloud soothed. And like that, she did.
Waking up was a painful process. The room was too bright, for one, with the sun shining directly into her face. Her thoughts slipped around her head without rhyme or reason. She felt like she could nap for a good few more hours. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Tifa spotted Denzel still snoring on the other couch, but no Cloud. She tugged up Denzel's blanket before she left the room. Cloud was easily found, however, taping cardboard to the smashed window of their truck. Now that she was more awake, she could appreciate how much damage the flying monsters had done; there were long scratches in the paint, and the passenger door had been dented inwards. She hoped Barret wouldn't mind that his truck would be newly repaired by the time he got back.
"Time to go?" Tifa called, wary of the pervasive stillness that always surrounded Healin. Cloud nodded once, and Tifa left him to it while she went to wake Denzel. The teen was, predictably, not happy to have his sleep disturbed, and stumbled to the pick-up with his blanket still wrapped around him. He settled into the back with a few mumbled comments Tifa chose not to call him on, and was asleep again by the time she started the engine.
The road down into the next valley was not nearly as steep or as dangerous as the one Cloud had navigated the night before, and the sun was only just skimming the horizon by the time Tifa began the ascent of the the final mountains marching between them and home. Cloud had dozed off not long after Denzel, and the implicit trust in that made her feel warm inside. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at herself, but Cloud made her feel like a little girl with her first crush even now. Barret would have laughed at her. Hell, even Yuffie would have taken a potshot.
Arching her back, Tifa wriggled in her seat, feeling a rush of blood to her cold feet.
"Want to swap?" She flinched at the unexpected voice, whipping her head towards Cloud. He was watching her with half-lidded eyes, smirking a little at her surprise. Laughing, Tifa swatted his leg before she turned back to the road.
"Not yet," she replied evenly.
"How much longer?" Denzel croaked suddenly from behind. Tifa could barely see the top of his head in the rearview mirror, and the rest of him was buried under blankets.
"It's not far," she reassured him.
"But how long?" he pressed.
"Another eight hours or so," said Cloud.
"Only when you drive," Tifa said teasingly. He narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't rise to the bait.
"That's ages," Denzel huffed. Cloud hummed noncommittally.
"This would have been much easier in the Shera," Tifa mused, knowing that any talk about their distant friends would distract Denzel from pretty much anything. He sat up, face keen with interest.
"You mean Cid's airship?" Tifa hid her smile.
"I do."