***Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did.
Cloud could see that the lights in 7th Heaven were still on, but he also noticed the closed sign was visible. He didn't know what time it was, but he knew it was late; one? Maybe two-o-clock? Tifa must have been waiting for him.
He took the sleeping girl into his arms and walked to the entrance of the bar, but he realized that he was going to have a hard time getting in. Staring at the door knob knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to turn the knob as long as the girl was in his arms, he thought to himself to what he should do. He didn't want to move her because he didn't want to wake her up, but he didn't exactly want to ask for help either.
"Damn i—"before he could finish his sentence the door to the bar swing open, and there stood Tifa. Initially she had a welcoming smile for him, but her smile faded when she saw the girl.
"Cloud, who is that?" she asked with worry.
It was funny, he thought, most women would have flown into frenzy, but not Tifa. No, she was the only person in this world that would want to help a strange girl in her boyfriend's arms. Truly, she had a mother's instinct, which ironically, was just the trait that his own mother wanted for him to find in a girl. True, Tifa was a year younger than him, but she was definitely more mature, which meant that she'd always be the one to take care of him. He, however, was perfectly fine with that.
"I found her in Edge."
Tifa only nodded in understanding and looked at the girl before gasping. Up until then, he had never really seen her, but what he saw shocked him. At first, he could only see the dirt marks on her clothing and splotches of dried blood on her skin and clothes. 'What happened to her?' he wondered.
When he moved his eyes to her face, he froze. She looked just like Tifa. There were some minute differences, but she looked almost exactly like Tifa. The two adults took their eyes off of her and looked into each others'. Cloud could tell that there were a hundred questions running through her mind, and she could tell the same for him.
"It's cold. Let's just get her inside. We'll deal with this upstairs," she decided.
Nodding, he followed her into the bar and up the stairs. Tifa quickly opened the door to her bedroom and ushered Cloud inside. Carefully laying her on the bed, Cloud quietly made his way to the bathroom to get a wet cloth and the first aid kit while try to be mindful of the sleeping children next door.
'What is going on?' he wondered.
He knocked on the door before hearing a quiet, "come in" from Tifa.
Slowly, Tifa began to clean the girl up. Other than minor cuts and bruises she seemed fine, which gave Tifa a sense of relief.
Slowly Cloud looked up from the chair that he had sat down in. Looking between the girl and Tifa, he felt unsure of what to do. He didn't know if she was dangerous, in trouble, or something else unimaginable.
"Hey, Tifa, "he called.
"Yes?" for a moment she looked up at him, but then immediately went back to her task.
"You—you don't have sister or anything do you?
"No…Cloud, I'm just as confused as you are," she looked up at him the worry in her eyes clearly visible. Her brows were furrowed, but they relaxed when she noticed how wet the two of them were.
"Go change Cloud. I got it from here."
He only shook his head in protest. He wasn't going to leave Tifa alone with a stranger—even if she did looked like her.
"Cloud. I can defend myself, so go," she demanded.
Sighing, he stood from his chair. He never was one to argue with someone else; it involved too many words, and often ending in hurt feelings.
After Tifa was sure Cloud was gone, she continued to tend to the girl, but then she realized that not only was the girl awake, she was staring at her.
"I'm dead?" she asked.
Tifa could only let out a small chuckle before replying, "No, you're here at 7th heaven."
Faster than lightning the girl had sprung off of the bed and into the middle of the room. Tifa looked at her. Her eyes were darting around the room, and she mumbled something under her breath, which went along the lines of, "Holy crap."
Tifa stood up and walked over to the panicking girl, but once the girl noticed her, she slowly began to back away.
"I won't hurt you. I'm a friend," Tifa said as she continued to move closer, but the girl could only stare at her with her wine colored eyes.
"I have to go," the stranger declared before walking towards the bedroom door, but she was stopped half-way when she rammed into another figure. Cloud.
