Chapter Six: Is This A Dream? Part 2
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A/N: Sorry for the longer break than I thought I would take. With Winter semester of school starting, I had to take a week-plus off to get everything straight. But I want to thank misanthropic angel, Diamond Moonlight, and macalaniaprincess again for the reviews and for taking the time to read this. I should be able to finish this story within a month or two, but I don't want to 100 guarantee this because the last time I said I would be done in a short amount of time, it didn't happen, LOL. And again, thanks to everyone who's taking the time to read this, I appreciate it.
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Carefully placing his gray backpack onto his bed, Mr. Cloud Strife placed his rough chin, a little hairy from a few hairs starting to grow, to rest between his thumb and curled index finger in thought. Unpacking the backpack to withdraw the bag containing a few wardrobe changes to make just in case Tifa had changed clothes as well as Cloud correctly anticipated, thoughts began to flow into his head, serving to defeat the courage left in his mind.
Remember…don't think about victory, nor defeat. Just do it. Just be in the moment.
Having changed into a nice, light warm brown button up shirt and light gray slacks that Barret surprisingly recommended that he should buy, Cloud suddenly came across a stumbling block to finishing his wardrobe change.
These damn shoelaces…they just won't stay tied SHUT.
Sitting down onto the end of the bed, Cloud angrily bent over to finish tying his new light brown Aldo casual shoes that he had purchased. Standing up to grab the backpack containing the surprise he had in store for Tifa, he made his way to the staircase as he took in a deep, relaxing breath and slowly let it release from his nostrils.
Well, here it goes.
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"Hit me, dealer."
"…"
"…21 baby!"
"Goddamn Cid, this is 'da 5th time in a row you done won 'dis game!"
Barret shook his right hand in slight anger as Cid grinned from ear to ear. Wrapping his gloved hands around his multi colored chips assembled messily in a large pile, the pilot moved them toward his end of the table and nodded at the dealer before leaving the table with his winnings.
It had been several hours since they had been at the new Edge Casino built on the outskirts of town, not including the several hours it took for the both of them to drive there and the other moments of getting lost in-between that time period.
"…I guess you can say it's a knack."
"Knack my ass!"
"Well, at least you still won a few other games earlier."
Cid stopped chuckling between his words as he gently patted Barret once on the back to help him feel better, in a friendly way of course.
"I know, but man…" The big former AVALANCHE leader shook his head, feeling habitually into his pocket with his right hand. "I messed up 'n spent all o' my money on those next games 'n lost everything…"
"It's alright though," Cid and Barret walked toward the exit of the casino leading to the dark red illuminated parking structure, shining brightly as if it were a sort of beacon to let the world know of the building's presence. "At least it wasn't me that was kickin' your ass."
"…"
Cid stopped a few feet behind Barret to get out a few more bent-over laughs from his gut, laughing heavily at his own joke.
"Hah, hah, hah," Barret mocked Cid's outburst of behavior, almost laughing himself. "Very funny. Let's just get back to Tifa's, it's almost midnight."
"Yeah you're right."
"Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a sock outside the front door since we've been gone so long."
"You've got a sick mind Cid, ya know that?"
"Come on, you know I'm not the only one thinking that."
"Actually, you was man."
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"And then he said, 'No! I didn't say it was a SAD dog, I said it was a MAD dog!'"
Tifa giggled at Cloud's small joke, unknowingly stroking her thin glass of white wine up and down in a slow, rhythmic pace as she continued to stare into Cloud's captivating green eyes. The both of them sitting at the bar section of the room side by side, Tifa casually crossed her left leg over her right, her left sandal habitually dangling off the tip of her foot.
"Yeah, that's one of my favorite shows…"
"Tifa, if you don't mind…what do you think was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?" Cloud carefully took a small sip of his white wine, making sure none of it spilled from the rim onto his clothes as he noticed he tended to have a habit of doing so. Remembering the many words Barret had said to him on the trip to Edge, he smiled at Tifa as she returned the same expression back.
'Remember Spike…first impressions are everything… keep your cool.'
"Wow…I guess I'd say…when we were both at the Chocobo Square at the Gold Saucer a few years ago while on our quest to defeat Sephiroth. And, I remember…I had chosen my pink Chocobo and named her 'Perky' because she was so energetic!" Tifa took another taste from her glass, almost realizing that she was almost done with her serving. "And…I remember I was wearing that short black skirt and white tanktop that I wore during that time. One of the things I remember about that outfit was that it was hard to stay put because the material it was made out of was so – oooooo slippery! And --"
Tifa's really opening up & I've barely said anything for the past 15 minutes. Cloud took a moment to stare a little more concentrated into the brunette's glowing light brown eyes. Continuing to gesture contently with her hands to help illustrate her story, Cloud continued to listen. She's almost…excited to talk to me, it seems?
"—And I was on Perky's saddle, and we had to start the race, but I wasn't ready to grip onto the saddle completely, and I ended up landing stomach first onto the saddle! It was so embarrassing, but I remember seeing you in the crowd during the race…and…you were encouraging me, as if I was still doing great. I still remember that to this day, Cloud."
Wow, did I just say that?
"You know I'll be supporting you Tifa," Cloud touched Tifa lightly on the forearm to emphasize his point, brushing a small spike of hair from his left eye. "Besides, I had bet on you and I didn't want to lose."
Smiling at the last remark that came out of his mouth, Tifa Lockheart began to laugh some more as she threw her head back slightly and played with her hair a little bit.
'And Spike, when you've got her laughing 'n it's 'da highest moment of 'da date or whatever, bounce outta there & talk to her later.'
"Well…it's almost midnight Teef, we'd better get ready for bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Yeah…Yuffie & Vincent are gonna be here! I can't wait!"
"Yeah…tomorrow should be a good day."
"…"
"…"
"…Cloud, would you mind if…since it's a little dark and everything…if you could walk with me…"
"…Your room's only down the hall from mine, so it's no problem at all."
Cloud managed to read Tifa's mind, knowing that it wouldn't be a waste of time to walk with her to her room. Cloud knew that it tended to get very dark around the midnight hour. The lights lit outside would shut off around this hour due to new Edge policies passed to conserve energy. Cloud gently grabbed Tifa by the hand as she got off of her stool, the female fighter slightly blushing at this abrupt gesture made by the blonde man before her.
'But Barret, how will I know it's the right time?'
'You jus' got ta' feel her out, Spike. And besides, it's better 'ta try than ta' not try at all. Man, I'd rather have faced either victory or defeat than to not try nothin' at all.'
"Cloud…" Tifa whispered very lightly in a flattered but surprise tone, knowing that it would not be heard by him but only to her. Completing the two sets of stairs connecting to the second floor, Tifa continued to follow right behind Cloud as she felt the strong, yet soft touch of Cloud's hand. Reaching her bedroom door, Cloud turned to face Tifa who had a small smile on her face as she started to get lost in Cloud's eyes once again. Looking down to his lips for a split second and then back to his eyes, Tifa suddenly felt a small warm fluttering feeling flow through her stomach.
'You jus' got ta' feel her out, Spike…'
'Here goes…'
Gently placing his left, strong hand on her right shoulder, Cloud carefully moved a few strands of hair hanging in front of her eye out of the way and leaned in closer toward her face. Feeling his warm, soft lips touching hers, Tifa let out a soft moan as she closed her eyes and wrapped her left arm around the blonde warrior's broad back. Returning the kiss, Tifa sensed soon after that the comfortable aura of Cloud's lips had left her presence, yet she could still feel his warm body next to hers. Opening her eyes, Tifa saw his lips spaced only a few inches apart from hers as she herself pushed toward Cloud to give a passionate kiss. Opening the door behind her with her free right hand, Tifa started to back up toward the bed with Cloud still on her, playing 'tit-for-tat' with each kiss given. Moaning a little bit louder as she could feel Cloud's touch of his lips on her neck and shoulders, Tifa lay herself down on the bed as Cloud managed to unknowingly pin Tifa down on her back.
'Wow…this is it…Tifa Lockheart, my first…and hopefully, my last.'
'I can't believe this is happening. Cloud Strife…my first…and hopefully, my last.'
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"Yooooooo, anyone still awake in here?"
"Damnit Cid, calm 'yo ass down! It's 2 in 'da mornin'! Cloud 'n Tifa are asleep!"
"We'll see about that."
Barret quietly closed the front door behind him as Cid already was a few steps ahead of the big man, carefully climbing the staircase to the second floor. Knocking on Cloud's bedroom door, he opened it to find no one inside. Scratching the back of his head, Cid shook his head at the idea that popped into his head.
I guess Cloud went out somewhere for the night. He's always doin' that.
Walking down a few more steps to Tifa's bedroom, Cid thought for a moment but decided to knock on the door anyway. Hearing silence, the blonde pilot decided to slowly open the door, noticing that no light was on compared to Cloud's room, but there was no sound to be heard except for light breathing which could be easily recognized as someone sleeping. Peeking inside to see if Tifa was alright, Cid's eyes widened in surprise from what he saw in front of him which was contrary to what he believed would be the result and closed the door as quickly as he had opened it.
"Well I'll be damned."