Chapter 2: Dreaming

I don't own.

Cloud walked in, holding Vincent on one shoulder. Tifa stalked out of the kitchen, pissed off, that Lockhart temper blazing like a furnace. As Cloud passed her, he passed off Avenger to Tifa. Tifa nearly dropped it on her toe. Cloud started up the stairs.

"I guess we'll talk about my prophesized death another time?" Cloud stopped dead.

"Later. I need…I need some peace." Cloud said, then continued up the stairs.

"We all do, Cloud. You don't want peace, you want to hide from the world. From yourself. Nobody's chasing you, Cloud. Get your act together." Tifa said, then dropped the sword and walked towards the living room.

Cloud dropped Vincent on the bed, then checked his eyes again. A little tiny ring of red was showing. That was good, because they might need seven feet of stitches and corpse-flesh with a chainsaw. Cloud sighed and sat down beside Vincent, putting his head in his hands.

"What do I do?" he asked himself.

"Go after her." Vincent said, surprising Cloud. "Don't make the mistake I did. You'll never forgive yourself, otherwise."

Cloud walked out of the room.

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Tifa was sitting on the couch, her back to Cloud. He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms slowly around her, and buried his head in her shoulder, placing gentle kisses there. Tifa grabbed Cloud's wrists.

"Cloud, we need to talk."

"No we don't. We both know we have feelings for each other, and I have every right to be pissed off at you. Always 'I'm not ready yet' when you say you want to tell me something. I'm sick of it."

Tifa remained silent. Cloud frowned and removed his arms. "Which is it? A memory or us? Don't make my nightmares come true." Tifa remained silent, thinking. The door slammed shut. She looked. Gone.

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Later that night, Cloud slipped into bed, his whole body tired from sparring. The First Tsurgi's blade was blunt from all the sparring (which was actually cutting down trees in one slash.) He noticed something was in his bed. He turned on the light. Tifa! She was laying on her side, facing Cloud, and if her shoulders were any indication, she was naked. Cloud threw the covers off of his side of the bed and rolled off, falling to the floor with a thud.

Tifa looked over the side of the bed.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I've made my decision."

"Hmm?"

"I love you, Cloud." Cloud smiled and got to his feet, stripped off his shirt and armor, (and shoes,) and laid down beside Tifa. She rolled until she was belly-down n the bed, half of her face looking at Cloud and smiling visibly, the other half was buried in her pillow. He thought it was cute. He held out an arm in invitation, and she rolled into his arms, and placed a kiss on his lips. This wasn't even desire, it was pure unrelenting passion in physical form. They didn't take it any further than that, they didn't need to, at the moment.

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Genesis walked the streets, which were becoming less and less populated as the sun went down. He earned a few disapproving stares, but he didn't notice. Genesis Raphodos was a member of SOLDIER, a first class, who had fought more battles than even Sephiroth. Sephiroth and Genesis were brothers of the battlefield, friend whose destiny could change at the point of a sword or the edge of a razor.

Genesis stopped. He'd seen someone he knew. Those green eyes. Those weren't natural. He turned, looking for a hint of silver hair. In the thin crowd, nobody had silver hair. Genesis shrugged it off and continued on his way.

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Midgar and Edge went to sleep, lights going off. Rufus watched from the Shinra mansion. Tseng stood behind him.

"Has the body been hidden?" Rufus asked.

"It's secure. All the files have been burned, and the workers have had memory wipes. Genesis won't find him without going through me or my Turks."

"The WRAITH?"

"They're on high-alert. We know all of Genesis's abilities. There's no way he can beat the secret dead."

"I want one stationed on Cloud at all times. WRAITH Auron should do. Assign WRAITH Omega to Vincent."

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The Wraith? Wonder you what is going on? Wait you until the next chapter, when a few old enemies return as new allies.