Story Title: After the Rain
Rating: K
Genre: Romance and Drama
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters appearing in this fanfiction.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Hopefully we'll see more progress in Tifa and Cloud's relationship from this point on.

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Chapter 4
And were completely forgotten

The school bell rang loudly across the campus. Cloud and Zack had barley walked into the room, out of breath. Zack had slept in, and Cloud was forced to wait for him. They walked to their seats, arguing about whose fault it was when the teacher walked in. Before sitting down, Cloud looked around for Tifa. She was nowhere to be found. It was strange. She was usually never late or absent. He took a glance at Aerith and they made eye contact. He gave her a look of questioning, and she mouthed, "Later."

Cloud nodded and sat down. He anxiously waited for the lesson to end so he could ask Aerith what was up. The minute their teacher dismissed the class he practically ran over to her desk and immediately asked, "Where's Tifa?"

She stared at him in amazement. "You don't waste time, do you?" As she took out her lunch she said, "She's not feeling well today, so she stayed home."

Cloud thought it was strange. She rarely stayed home unless she was incredibly ill. And she last time he saw her she was perfectly fine! He wondered what happened. Zack appeared from behind Aerith, but he wasn't in his usual energetic mood. "Is Tifa okay?" Zack asked Aerith. She nodded. "She's fine. But she won't be here tomorrow either."

"Is that so?"

"It seems so."

Cloud ate his lunch quietly while Zack chatted with Aerith. For once their conversations weren't filled with the usual jabber. It was pleasant and calm, for Aerith smiled serenely on occasions. Tifa's absence was a big change, but Cloud managed to get through it. He occasionally threw in a comment on whatever Zack and Aerith talked about, but otherwise he was just eating. He wondered if Tifa was eating lunch too. He must've looked incredibly spaced out because Zack began waving his hand to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry." Cloud placed his food down.

"You should blink more, y'know?" Zack said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I know… sorry." Cloud took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Ah, a sandwich… I want one too." After trying to make Cloud give him the rest of his sandwich, Zack stalked off to get one of his own from the long lunch line. Cloud was left alone with Aerith. She sat on the desk, staring out the window. Cloud glanced at her, then returned to eating. She, like Zack, was a year older than him. He met her when she was still dating Zack, but after a series of unfortunate events they broke up. She was a calm and dignified person, much like Tifa. Except, she was much better at hiding how she felt.

"…You and Zack." Cloud said, seemingly out of the blue. Aerith looked at him, her green eyes curious. "I don't mean to pry, but, what are your feelings for him now?"

She looked away, smiling sadly. "I'm not sure myself. I guess in some ways I'm afraid of believing him. It's hard to believe in someone, you know? Especially when that person rarely shows how they feel for you."

"He seemed quite head-over-heels for you."

"Yes, well, he's always like that though. I rarely got to see the seriousness of him. The first time I did though… was when we broke up." She stared out the window at her reflection. She looked like a sad angel. "I do miss being with him… but I'm afraid."

"…Zack's trying hard."

She turned to him, smiled and said, "I know."

At that moment Zack happily returned with two sandwiches in his hands, one of them he handed to Aerith who accepted it. Cloud watched the two interact with one another. In a way, they were both like him and Tifa. Aware of one another's feelings yet so afraid of what may happen. However, it seemed Zack was going to take any risks just to be with Aerith. She must be something special. After school, Zack walked Aerith home for the first time in a long while. Cloud headed straight to Tifa's house. When he rang the doorbell though, no one came to answer. Even if Tifa wasn't there, her father would've answered it. He waited for five more minutes. Still no one came.

Disheartened, he walked across the street to his house. He had left his keys to the front door in his room, so he knocked on the door. His mother was still home, so he knew he wouldn't be locked out. But when he opened the door, he came face to face… with Tifa.

"T-Tifa?" Cloud stammered, dropping his book bag.

She simply smiled. "Welcome home, Cloud."

He wondered if he had walked to the wrong house, but calmly picked up his bag.

"W-what are you doing here?" he asked, his heart beating unsteadily.

"Your mom invited my father and I for dinner.

"Oh… did she?"

Tifa allowed him through and closed the door. Already he heard the sound of laughter coming from the living room. No doubt it was his mother and Tifa's father. He departed to his room while Tifa waited for him downstairs. He quickly changed out of his uniform and threw on some warm clothes before going back down to the living room. His mother and Tifa's father greeted him warmly.

"Welcome home, Cloud." Said his mother, smiling.

"Welcome home, boy!" cheered Tifa's father loudly.

"I-I'm back." Cloud smiled uncomfortably.

He was stuck in the living room for a couple of minutes before Tifa thought of an excuse for them to leave. When they stood outside the front door, Cloud kept staring at Tifa. She didn't look ill. In fact, she looked completely healthy! When she caught him staring, she asked, "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "No, it's just… you didn't come to school today."

"Oh, that." She sat down on the porch. "I wasn't exactly motivated to go."

"So it wasn't because you weren't feeling well?"

Tifa looked at him, smirking. "Well, not really."

He blinked, not understanding the situation. Was there something he missed? Forgot? He didn't know. Stuck in his own thoughts, he stared at the floor, thinking. Tifa bent down, catching him a bit off guard. "Were you worried?" She asked innocently.

Cloud blushed and muttered. "…Yeah…"

She giggled. "I'll be fine. I appreciate your concern though."

They talked all the while about random subjects before being called into the house two hours later. The meal was delicious and warm, filling up their stomachs but leaving enough room for more and desert. The afternoon atmosphere was talkative and pleasant. It had been a while since Cloud experienced such a family moment. He even smiled. When the day grew old, Tifa and her father bid them good-bye. Before Tifa left though, Cloud asked, "Will you be coming to school tomorrow?"

She shook her head and said, "I'm afraid I've got plans tomorrow."

Cloud waved a sad goodbye and returned to helping his mother wash up. After that he walked up to his room and collapsed on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Before going to bed, he walked past the calendar and decided to check up on the dates. He traced his finger from date to date, and stopped when he came upon the date for tomorrow. It was circled in red ink, and in the box was written: Anniversary of Mrs. Lockheart's passing.

Tomorrow was the day Tifa's mother passed away. Cloud had completely forgotten. In shame, he turned out the lights and lay on his bed, no longer sleepy. After a few minutes, his mother came to check up on him. "Still awake?" she said.

"…Yeah."

"It's been a long day... for all of us."

Cloud knew that his mother was well aware of what Tifa and her father was going through. He thought for a moment. Then asked, "Is it okay… if I don't go to school tomorrow?"

"Whatever the reason why?"

"I… want to go with Tifa to visit her mom's grave."

Silence. Finally, his mother replied with a smile in her voice, "That'll be fine."