Hiya! Chapter 3! I got this huge surge of inspiration and wrote more chapters and decided to upload the finished ones…I hope you like this!
Anyway, more wedding preparations…Tifa relives old insecurities…and we discover Vincent's weakness! Bwahaha! Please, please review!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy or any of its characters.
CHAPTER 3: TRUST ME
"Whew! I'm exhausted!" Yuffie flopped down on a bar stool and slumped onto the counter. "Being a wedding planner sure is tough…I think I'll stick to being a ninja."
Tifa, equally drained, sat down across from her, behind the bar. It had been a very long day.
First, her regulars had divided into the groups Yuffie (who knew the girl had it in her?) had assigned them to. Then they had set to work. But even with the regulars helping out, Tifa had to be present to make sure everything was in order and she had spent most of the day flitting from group to group, making decisions and offering suggestions.
Group #1 had rummaged around in attics, trying to find material for three dresses. In the end, they had managed to find a simple, white child's dress that had long been outgrown by one of Mrs. Turnpike's daughters for Marlene. At Tifa's suggestion, they had sewn scraps of lace around the collar and hem. To satisfy Marlene's desire for sunny yellow, one of the regulars had snipped a yellow ribbon from an old sundress and wound it around the waist.
Group #2 had less success, however. There were very few places in the vicinity of Midgar and Edge where flowers could grow. In desperation, Tifa had gone to Elmyra Gainsborough, Aerith's foster mother. Elmyra still lived in Midgar. Cloud had repaired her little house nearly three years ago and she had planted a little garden in her front yard in memory of her daughter.
Elmyra had been delighted to hear about Cloud and Tifa's engagement and told Tifa to help herself to all the flowers she might need. A grateful Tifa had invited her to the wedding. Still, even with Elmyra's flowers, there wasn't enough to fill the whole church. Tifa squelched her disappointment… Well, you can't have everything...
Group # 4 had spent the day organizing the menu, with Tifa's help, and hauling up crates and crates of wine, under a lip-smacking Yuffie's supervision. The tiny ninja had attempted to steal some of the liquor, but fortunately - or unfortunately, in Yuffie's opinion - Tifa managed to stop her in time.
Group #3 had gone to the church to find the other AVALANCHE members attempting to fix the place. Cait Sith and Red XIII were clearing away debris, while Barrett heaved a huge beam away from the aisle. Vincent was hammering away at the pews, muttering a string of profanities as he hit his thumb.
"Uncle Vincent!" Marlene had chastised him, "You're in church!"
Yuffie had taken one look at the broody ex-Turk's swollen thumb and rolled on the wooden floor, laughing. "You are SO not a carpenter, Vince!"
Her comment had earned her a death-glare from Vincent who took aim once more, this time hitting the right target.
"What are you guys doing here?" Tifa had asked, surprised.
"Cloud," had been Vincent's weary answer. "He felt guilty for not helping with the preparations for your wedding –"
" – so he sent us to do the grunt work instead!" Barrett had snorted. "Damn that spikey-assed kid! I'm gonna kill him when he gets here!"
"Papa!" Marlene had scolded severely, raising a little finger and wagging it at Barrett. "That's another gil in the swear jar! Let's make it two because we're in church."
"That kid's gonna be rich before she hits puberty, thanks to that swear jar." Yuffie had laughed as the burly miner slapped his normal hand over his mouth.
They all set to work. Thanks to the newcomers, Vincent was relieved of his hammering job and had set about clearing huge beams and slabs of stone out of the way. The loft, it seemed, was beyond help. The whole side had caved in when Kadaj, one of Sephiroth's other remnants, and Cloud had battled inside the church. Tifa could only hope the weather would continue to be mildly sunny or else they would all be completely drenched.
After four more hours and significant improvements on the church's condition, they had decided to call it a day. The groups had then converged at the Seventh Heaven for dinner and drinks, just as planned. Though exhausted, everyone had relayed reports of their progress and hoped the next day would bring about more favorable results. Finally, at around ten, the groups dispersed, tired and yawning. Tifa had thanked them all profusely and advised them to get some rest.
Finally, only Yuffie, Vincent, Barrett, Cait Sith and Red XIII were left. After tucking the worn out kids to bed, Tifa joined them at the bar, pouring each of them one last drink. Yuffie was slumped on the counter and Red XIII was on the floor, snoring.
Hmmm…ten o'clock. It was pretty late. Where was Cloud? He was usually home around seven thirty or eight. There hadn't been many deliveries today, so what was taking him so long?
As if on cue, Tifa's mobile phone rang shrilly. She fished it out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Cloud?"
"Hey."
"Hi, where are you?" she asked, concerned. "It's ten o' clock!"
"Yeah…I know, sorry…" a pause, "Listen, Tifa…I, um, I can't come home tonight…"
Tifa froze and her hand gripped the phone so hard, her knuckles went white. Instantly, her mind went into overdrive and she thought back on the time Cloud had left their little family to live in Aerith's church. She remembered the hurt she had felt when it seemed as if he had chosen Aerith's memory over her, and the shame that had accompanied her jealousy.
Her heart stopped. Was it going to happen again? Had she gotten her hopes up, only to have them dashed away again by the pain of rejection?
Cloud seemed to sense what she was thinking, and his voice softened. "Tifa, hold up your hand."
Tifa obeyed numbly. The gold ring on her finger caught her eye. She felt the slight weight of it on the base of her finger, solid and reassuring.
"I'll come back home, Teefs, I promise…" Cloud said quietly. "Trust me, okay?"
Relief flooded through Tifa. She smiled and gave a nod that Cloud couldn't see. "Okay."
She hung up. Yuffie peered up at her from her perch on the bar stool. "Chocobo-head not coming home, then?"
"No."
Out of the corner of her eye, Tifa saw Barrett look up. Vincent's eyes narrowed slightly. Cait Sith looked thoughtful, scratching his chin with one gloved hand and nursing his elbow with the other. Red XIII went on snoring from his position on the floor. Yuffie opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, Tifa cut in.
"He'll come back. He promised."
The others relaxed visibly, but Yuffie frowned up at her. "I wasn't going to say anything about that."
Tifa raised an eyebrow.
"I wasn't! Really! I was actually going to ask you what you're going to do about the priest."
"The priest?" Tifa asked blankly.
"Um, the guy who's gonna marry you guys?" Yuffie wrinkled her eyebrows at Tifa. "Can't have a wedding without him...Or did you already find one? It's not on your list – "
"The priest!!!" Tifa bolted upright so suddenly, she knocked her chair to the ground. It hit the floor with a wooden thud, waking Red XIII. "I completely forgot to look for one!"
"You're kidding, aren't you?" Yuffie took in Tifa's horrified expression and winced. "I guess that's a no."
"Do you guys know where I can find a priest? Or, I don't know, someone who can officiate the wedding or something?" Tifa turned to the others.
Nothing. They looked just as clueless as she was. Tifa slumped down on the counter.
"I'm SO dead."
A/N: Well, what do you know? Vincent sucks as a handyman...gasp! He's not perfect after all! Please review!
