Hello! Here's the next chapter of Grey! Disclaimer: I don't own it. Otherwise I would be married to Cloud by now. ;)


Art Deco

He couldn't get it out of his mind. He turned over in bed with a frusterated grunt and stared at the waning moon outside of his window. When Tifa had touched his scars, ran her hand down his body a sort of fire lit up inside of himself which still smoldered in himself. He wasn't stupid, but he wasn't dead either. Tifa was a beautiful woman. She was also headstrong, feisty and he had to admit, a talented piano player. But she was aslo insane. Zack was an easy-going kind of guy, but even he had his limitations. Cloud didn't think for one minute he would be okay with the idea of them going in to any kind of relatioship. Besides who said she even felt the same way? No, it was impossible. Cloud couldn't afford to think about these things any more. ' But that doesen't mean I can't look at her... or think about her... Watch her or take care of her. After all that's my job. So what if I might be attracted to her? It's just an emotion. It's not like I actually care about-' Again he could recall the memory of her hands on his body. The look in her eyes and the feel of her when he held her to him. '...Fuck.'

It looked like his sleep would not be peaceful tonight. Grunting he turned over and readjusted the pillow under his head and closed his eyes. He fell asleep quickly enough...if you could call it that. His body was relaxed and his breaths came out evenly in the tell-tale signs of sleep. Yet his mind was still aware of the hours and the wind causing the branches to shake and sway outside of his window. He was only half-asleep. And it seemed that was all the universe-and his troubled mind would give him tonight. Therefore it was understandable that when his alarm clock blared to life he woke up glaring and slammed his hand down on the off button. He felt like he hadn't slept at all. Still he dragged himself out of bed and after brushing his teeth and downing some water he hit the floor and began a series of push-ups. Thus his mornign exerscise began again and he did the same routine again. Another shower. Then he dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt and his black boots.

It matched his mood. He rummaged around in his cabinets and settled for a bowl of Cherrios and sliced up babanna. He really should go to the grocery store later. Like the day before he left for the Fair house at quarter to eleven and jogged all the way there. The fall weather was cool, enough for a jacket but not freezing yet. Going with the day's trend he was wearing a simple balck leather jacket. Already he felt irritated with the day. A cycle was forming here and whether due to his lack of proper sleep or the impending familiarity of it all-or a combination of everything he felt bored with the routine already. And frusterated. After that incidemt with Tifa yesterday he didn't feel like seeing her again. It would add to his feelings of... Well, feelings. Irritation, exhasperation, anger, indignation and ( Admit it!) lust. ' Damn. This just doesen't feel like my day at all. No. If you decide a day is going to be bad then you set yourself up unconsciously to make it true. No, today is going to be fine. Just another day.'

Cloud reached the home at eleven exactly and knocked on the door. Zack answered immediately and smiled happily. " Well, look who's on time!" Cloud sent him a lazy glare and Zack's smile faded. The intuition a true best friend always has kicked in and he looked Cloud over with concerned eyes. " Hey, man...you're kinda weird this morning. You okay?" Cloud stepped in through the door and sat down on the couch. He scrunched his face up in confusion and looked at Zack as he sat beside him.

"...Weird?"

" Yeah. You didn't flip me off today. And I know you aren't the world's biggest talker but, you didn't even make some snide remark about the time when I pointed it out." His concern warmed Cloud and he sighed heavily and leaned back on the couch.

" I'm fine, Zack. Just didn't sleep so great is all. I feel kinda out of it, today."

" Ah. Troubled sex life?" He asked seriously. Cloud opened his eyes and looked at his friend wondering if maybe Zack was the one off today.

" No sex life."

" Then there's your problem." He stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Cloud reached out and half-heartedly smacked his friend on the head. Zack chuckled and ruffled Cloud's hair earning a disgruntled groan from the other. " Much better. Tifa's in the studio right now creating. She's had her pills this morning so you don't need to give her any yet." He nodded and thinking back to what Tifa had said earlier he cleared his throat to ask.

" Yesterday I had to chase Tifa down and force her to take her pills. Later she admitted your way is less...um..."

" Harsh?" Zack offered. Cloud nodded sheepishly and smiled.

" Well, yeah. Any pointers?" Zack smiled back and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.

" I thought you would have figured it out on your own. If she refuses to take her meds, hide her art stuff and don't give it back until she takes her pills. If that doesen't work, threaten to destroy it. Last time she put up a fight I held a match to one of her paintings. Then she couldn't get to her pills fast enough." Yes. In Cloud's opinion he really should have thought about something like that earlier. Then again Tifa did have a way of distracting him. Shaking away that thought he tilted his head curiously at Zack.

" Have you ever destroyed her art before?"

" Yeah. I've ripped drawings, burned paintings and flushed her paints down the toilet before. She knows my threats will hold up. So if you try it I think it'll work for you. You said you had to chase her down?" Cloud nodded and Zack's smile grew. " What happened? You gotta tell me!" Cloud sighed and crossed his arms.

" She ran up the stairs, I chased after her. I caught her once, but I found it kinda hard to hold on when she fucking kicked me in the head. I still have the damn lump to prove it." Zack laughed. " I finally caught her trying to get in to her room. I dragged her back, forced the pills in her mouth, then held a hand over her mouth and didn't let go until she swallowed." Still smiling Zack nodded thoughtfully and sat up and leaned back with Cloud on the couch.

" A little rough handling, but the overall affect was the desired one. She took her meds." Zack stood up and then walked to the door. " Well, now that you know what to do hopefully it should be easier going for the both of you. You two try to behave now and I'll see you guys tonight. By the way, house looks great. Thanks. Now if I could get you in fish nets and an apron we might have something to work with here." Zack smiled as Cloud flipped him off, then Zack opened the door and stepped out. " Take care of my house now, Ingrid!" Cloud stood up and promptly walked up to the door and slammed it in the Soldier's face. Grumbling Cloud turned around and was surprised to see Tifa waiting for him at the hallway.

" About time you got here." She said, her voice exhasperated. She walked right up to him then placed both of her hands tenderly on either side of his face. " I need your body." They stared at eachother for exactly ten seconds. She...what? Cloud reached up and gently removed her hands while his eyes became cautious. This was NOT helping.

" Why?" He asked slowly. Tifa huffed and motioned back to the work room.

" I'm painting something and I need you to model for me." A half-hearted grin spread over his features as less innocent thoughts came to his mind.

" You're just looking for an excuse to get me naked, aren't you?" She instantly pulled back and slapped him dead in the face.

" No, you arrogant ass. I just need you to model a pose for me. That's it. Hands where I can see them and clothes on!" Cloud rubbed a hand over his cheek, soothing the sting away and he glared at her lazily.

" Not interested." Tifa huffed then grabbed his wrist-rather forcefully and pulled. Smirking Cloud let his free hand hang to the side as she huffed and growled and pulled harder. He didn't budge. Grounding her teeth togther she forced her tone to be pleasant...or somelthing like pleasant as she adressed the latest scource of her irritation.

" Cloud?"

" Hmmm?" She turned around and wanted to scream at the look of ease and haughtiness about him. Yes she knew he was stronger than her but did he have to remind her all the time? Meanwhile Cloud watched her curiously. So now she was resorting to nicities. It was fun to see that pissed off look on her face. Then again that was all he saw most of the time. Tifa let go of his wrist and sighed.

" Just please come back to the studio with me. All you have to do is lay still. Hell you can sleep on that damn floor if you want. As long as you stay still I honestly don't care." Now he was even more curious. Just what was she painting and why did she need him to model? Morbid curiosity led him to do something he didn't really want to do. He gave in. He let out a tired groan and rolled his eyes.

" All right, fine. Where do you need me?" Tifa grabbed his hand and gently ushered him in to the room. It was different from yesterday. The papers on the table had been cleared away. But only to give room to all of the paints and pastels covering the surface, as evidience of the items which had not been there before. The brushes and painting necessities had been laid out in straight lines, by color and size. Almost like surgical tools. A towel smeared with an endless array of colors lay on the edge. On the floor was a crumpled bedsheet splattered with every color imaginable. Tifa guided him to the center of the room then pointed to the floor.

" Lay down." He complied and lay himself flat on the wooden floor warmed by the late morning sun. Tifa knelt down beside him and reached over him to take the bicep of his right arm. Cloud felt his pulse quicken ever-so-slightly a she hovered over him, her hair falling in to his face. He breathed in her scent. She smelled nice. Like flowers...and there was another sweeter scent he couldn't quite place. Honey maybe? Her hands gently guided his arm away from his body, then bent it down. Then she ran her hand over his arm, her touch heating his skin. Cloud kept his face impassable. Once she was satisfied with the position she scooted back then began positioning his left arm. Again she brought it away from his body then bent the elbow up at a 90 degree angle and then stretched it out. His body was tense with sensations he couldn't even describe as she ran her hands over his arm and then traveled upward to his face.

" You're tense." She murmured. Cloud didn't say anything. He didn't trust his voice at that moment to say anything. She seemed to ignore this and placed a soft hand to his face. " Relax your body, Cloud. Close your eyes and just breathe." He let his eyes dart to her's and he held her gaze, only staring at her. Then slowly, he let his eyes drift close. He could no longer see her, but he sure as hell felt her. He felt her hair tickling his skin. He felt her hands rubbing against his. He could hear her. " Relax your fingers." He did. She rubbed his shoulders coaxing his body to relax. Then her hands travelled down to his clothed chest and began rubbin his chest, his stomach...then his hips...and then his legs. He didn't know how long he lay there. Half and hour maybe. It took everything in him to surpress the sensations she was giving him. He could feel the hard-on that begged for release. He ruthlessly crushed it and forced his body in to submission and numbness. He was determined not to feel.

" Open your eyes." His eyes opened, the sun making his eyes squint for a little while. Just until his eyes readjusted to the light. Tifa stood up and walked around him to her easel, which was turned away from him. It would be impossible to watch what she was painting. " Just look at me." Where else would he look? She stared at him, analyzing him with her artist's eye then took a pencil and began drawing on the canvas. As instructed Cloud kept his eyes on her and stared at her as she moved her hands over her creation, lips pursed in concentration. Every so often she would glance at him, roam her eyes over him then return to drawing at what sounded like a slow pace. The sound of lead dragging on paper was the only sound in the room. Not even the sound of birds outside broke the silence.

Again time escaped him as he lay there, watching her when she finally decided the pencil was unnecessary and then began reaching for different colored pastels and paints. She took a small brish and dipped it in blue, like the sky, then focused her eyes on a certain part of the painting and seemed to do nothing more than dot the place. She shook the brush clean in a glass of cloudy water then dipped the brush in black. That color seemed to take more time. Then she used yellow, silver, red, brown, navy and grey only seeming to mark or make a few brush strokes with each color. Maybe when this was over he could convince her to show him what she painted. He closed his eyes and only let himself lie there. His mind drifted. Then a gentle shake made him open his eyes again. Tifa was leaning over him. She was close. " Cloud, wake up."

" Huh?" Wake up?

" You've been asleep for the last half-hour." Really? It felt like all he did was close his eyes. " I told you to keep your eyes on me." She grumbled irritably.

" And you also said sleeping was allowed. I got bored just lying here. What else was I supposed to do?" He sat up and winced at the stiff feeling in his neck. Cloud rolled his shoulders then tilted his head to the side, his neck popping and his muscles relaxing instantly. He got up off of the floor with a grunt then looked around for a clock. " How long were you at it anyway?" Tifa stood up with him then walked back to her painting and picked up a splattered sheet off of the floor.

" Two hours and thirty-seven minutes." She draped the sheet over the canvas. That long? Cloud groaned and stretched his arms and arched his back, working the set-in kinks out of his body. When he let his arms drop he looked over at Tifa. She was staring at him with an oddly blank expression. " Well you're done now. So can you please leave so I can work some more?" She said please. And her tone had been subdued. Calm. Not like her usual bitch self. Was she okay? Wait...what did he care? He shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

" Fine. But since I did this favor for you, then can you do me a favor and take your meds quietly today?" She smirked and put a hand on her hip.

" Why? Did I tire you out last time, old man?" That was like her.


Done! I know I took my sweet-time updating but in my defense I've been working alot lately. Alot of covers and double-shifts. But I finally got this up! So, looks like things might be heating up a bit, eh? Please R&R and have a nice day!