A/N: We come to it at last!!! First off, I want to apologise for the long time between updates, but reality was calling...and it was calling loudly. I stopped writing this fic a month before my exams started, and after FINALLY finishing high school I just couldn't sit down and do some good typing, and then just when I was ready....my keyboard stopped working...yep that was irritating. It took me quite a while to replace it.
I would like to thank DynastyWARRIORS, vLuna, MyfinalfantasyVII, Marisa, BrownSugarCandy, Infinite Devil Machine, Aziza-Chan, KCVII, Fantasy girl, tresa, Epic Popcorn, Sesshormaru Dogdemon, A Morning Star and Firesword for your awesome reviews and I hope you guys along with all the readers will enjoy this chapter.
On to the story, this is probably the loooongest chapter yet. For those who don't like long chapters, brace yourself. But I promise you, It will be worth it.
Chapter 7
6:00 a.m. Ruins of Midgar.
The sun was rising, and with it a new day was dawning upon the world.
To Cloud today had special significance, for the first time in his life, he now had a chance to make a fresh start. Cloud was finally beginning to appreciate the significance of the rising sun A new life, new found happiness and newfound peace. A gentle breeze caressed his blonde, spiky hair as he held a phone to his ear, tapping his foot with impatience.
"Come on, Yuffie" he murmured.
He hoped that the ninja did not choose this morning of all mornings to sleep in. There were literally, lives at stake
The monotonous ringing tone was broken by an impatient voice.
"Hello? Who is this?"
Cloud almost sighed with relief.
"Yuffie" he said. "I need-"
"I SAID who is this?" interrupted Yuffie, and then she gasped as she recognized the caller. "Cloud? Cloud?"
"Hello, Yuffie"
"Cloud? What makes you think you can call after you walked out the way you did? Huh? Answer me Cloud!"
"It's a long story" he said, he was not in a mood to get into a discussion about his thoughts and feelings, especially with Yuffie, who could safely be branded as the gossip girl of the group."I need to know where the wedding is," he said. "Can you tell me where it's taking place?"
"Why" said Yuffie, on the other end of the line. "So that you can swoop in on Tifa's happy day and ruin it for her?"
"I wasn't planning to swoop in" hissed Cloud.
More like, charge Fenrir through the door. He thought to himself
"Of course you were"
"Vincent swoops, I don't swoop"
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.
"Whatever! You're both are the same!"
"Yeah it's really hard distinguishing between the two of us" said Cloud. "What with Vincent's metal arm, his cloak, Chaos, his wonderful shoes…did I mention his cloak?"
"This is so not the way to get information out of me, Cloud" said Yuffie.
"I just want to see Tifa…" started Cloud, but was interrupted.
"Why should I tell you anything?" snapped Yuffie. "After you stormed out the way you did. She was really hurt by that, you know"
Cloud wasn't surprised to hear that Tifa knew that he came to the house, nothing stayed secret for long with Yuffie around.
"That's exactly why I want to talk to her," he said, improvising quickly. "Things are pretty bad between us, I just wanted to sort them out, and… that's all. Please, Yuffie" he added.
His heartfelt plea, touched Yuffie as she said.
"The wedding's taking place in a chapel" she said.
"Which one?" asked Cloud.
He had seen several small chapels throughout Edge during his time at the Delivery Service.
"It's this tiny place outside Edge" said Yuffie. "It's really small but it's absolutely beautiful"
"Right, thanks a lot, Yuffie"
"One more thing, Cloud" said Yuffie, before he could hang up. "I gave you the location, because you needed to talk to Tifa, but if you do anything to mess this day. I swear I will go Wutai all over your ass, and you don't want me to do that"
"You wouldn't get within five feet of my ass" murmured Cloud.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, thanks for the info, bye Yuffie"
He hastily hung up before Yuffie could figure out what he had just said. He casually strode over to Fenrir and mounted the bike. He opened the compartment to ensure that all his swords were still stored, he wasn't planning on using his weapons, especially in a church, but it never hurt to be a little cautious. As he put on his riding goggles, he thought about the time and distance he would take to reach his destination. There was only one chapel outside of Edge, Cloud had passed it a couple of times on his way to Rocket Town. It was as Yuffie said, a small place, almost indistinguishable at a distance. Cloud had only been inside the place once, to ask for water in the middle of a hot day. According to the invitation Reno had given him, the wedding would start at 9.30 in the morning. Cloud's plan was simple, he was hoping to get there well before that that time, so that he could talk to Tifa without causing too much of a scene. Cloud was not sure how Tifa would react, for all he knew, she might call the other Turks to have him thrown out, but he refused to sit back and do nothing, not after the vision that Aerith and Zack showed him.
Cloud knew that he would take at least one hour to get to the chapel, maybe less if he rode Fenrir at top speed.
Got nothing to lose he thought to himself.
Cloud kicked the engine to life, the machine roared, as if greeting it's master. Cloud couldn't help but smirk as he felt the familiar vibration under his fingers. He smiled and whispered.
"Let's go, Fenrir" and sped away from the church, leaving behind a trail of dust.
6:05 a.m. Seventh Heaven
Yuffie hung up the phone with a feeling of trepidation tingling down her spine.
"I have a bad feeling about this" she murmured to herself, fingering the phone as it were a suspicious device.
Cloud wasn't himself during that phone call, something about him changed. It wasn't just what he said, but how he spoke as well. He was bright and perky…almost happy. Yuffie shivered, somehow the thought of a happy, smiling Cloud just didn't seem right in her books. Probably because she never seen him smile since she had met him, in fact, she doubted if anyone in the entire world had ever seen Cloud smile, the exception, probably being Tifa.
"Tifa…" murmured Yuffie, her thoughts coming back to the present.
There were getting ready to leave and Tifa was still in her room. She turned around and headed towards the staircase, she was about to place her foot on the first step when she heard a loud voice.
"I'll be damned if I'm gonna be ordered around by some Turk!" yelled Barret. "Now outta my way!"
Yuffie silently thought to herself that if the Turk in question had any sense, he (or she) would step aside and not provoke Barret any further.
"Whataya mean that ain't possible? Get OUT OF MY WAY SPIKES!"
"For Jenova's sake" hissed Yuffie, turning towards the living room and sprinting on the direction where the yelling was coming from.
She entered the living room/bar, where Barret was towering over a young Turk half his size, the Turk in question was a he.
I knew it! Thought Yuffie, triumphantly. Only a man would do something this stupid!
Barret's face was scrunched up in anger, as he practically towered over the young man. Yuffie sensed another tantrum coming and spoke quickly.
"Barret!" she hissed.
The large man looked up immediately.
"Yuffie!" he snapped. "Why da hell is this mangy mutt standing in my way?"
Privately, Yuffie was surprised that Barret didn't toss the Turk aside like a piece of garbage, he was certainly strong enough to do that.
"Barret, why are you here?" she asked. "The wedding will start in a few hours, and we're just about to leave. I thought you said you wanted nothing to do with this wedding?"
Barret suddenly turned sheepish and began to rub the back of his head.
It had been only five days ago, when Barret had walked in, with the decorations for the house complete for the welcome of the soon-to-be married couple. The decorations seemed to be a confirmation to Barret that a wedding would be taking place soon, and he had left, yelling about how he refused to see Tifa marry some red-headed pig. Yuffie had been furious with Barret for his actions, because she knew that he had hurt Tifa. The ninja would frequently catch her friend hastily wiping tears away whenever she entered the room.
"Yeah" said Barret, as he recalled the yelling. "About that, I was hoping I could talk to Tifa"
"No" said Yuffie, firmly.
Barret frowned. "Whatya mean no?"
"I mean no" said Yuffie, firmly. "This wedding has been stressful enough for Tifa without you insulting her fiancé and yelling about how'll you never support her"
"Yuffie" snapped Barret. "This ain't what you think it is"
"Then enlighten me!"
"Barret?"
Barret turned his attention to the speaker. "Tifa" he said. "I wanna to talk to you, and I swear it's not what you think it is"
Tifa was standing in the doorway, wearing a purple sleeveless top and matching pyjama trousers, the gaunt expression on her face told Yuffie that she had just woken up.
"It's a bit early" she said, glancing at the clock.
It read 6.10 am.
"But sure, come into the pantry"
Yuffie glanced at Tifa with concern; she was usually so peppy and pleasant in the morning, but today she was unusually gloomy and morbid.
Must be wedding jitters she thought to herself, shrugging.
Tifa entered the pantry with Barret in tow, without saying anything to him,she entered the pantry and pulled out a pan from the cupboard. Barret raised his eyebrows as Tifa then pulled out milk, eggs and butter.
Why is she making breakfast? Wasn't she supposed to get ready for the wedding?
He pushed the thought aside and decided to focus on what he had to say.
"Listen, Tifa" he said. "About the other day…"
"You mean the day you stormed into the bar, uninvited, insulted my fiancé and damned my wedding to hell?" snapped Tifa, a bite of impatience in her voice.
The egg she was holding in her hand cracked under her strong grip.
"Uh" said Barret, thinking that he would be very lucky if he escaped the fate of that egg. "I was wrong. I'm sorry"
For a moment Tifa paused, she cocked her head in his direction though she didn't look at him, before continuing with the bustle of breakfast.
"I shouldn't have said those things" continued Barret. "I mean…" he trailed off.
Tifa frowned, Barret seemed so unsure of himself, what was going on?
"Tifa" he said. His voice seemed different now. "I want you to look at me" he said.
Hesitantly, she turned around and looked up at him. He was standing now, and looking down at Tifa with large brown eyes.
"I don't like Reno" he said. "He's a Turk, an idiot, a prick, a fool who doesn't deserve someone like you"
Tifa raised an eyebrow.
"Is this your way of apologizing?"
"I ain't finished" said Barret. "But I now realize that you must really love him"
That was so two weeks ago thought Tifa.
"And while I think there's a better person out there" said Barret.
Tifa was sure that he was referring to one single man in particular, and pushed the thought aside.
"If you really want to marry this guy" he said. He took a deep breath, as if looking for the resolve to complete his words.
"I'll support and stand by you, no matter how much I don't like it"
Silence followed this statement. Tifa took a deep breath, her eyes were shining with tears.
"Do you really mean that?" she whispered.
Barret nodded. "Tifa? You're crying"
Without another word, Tifa walked around the pantry and gave Barret a tight hug. Barret hugged her back.
"I'm so glad you said that Barret" she whispered. "I've been so scared and…alone"
"You're not alone, Tifa" said Barret, softly, as he stroked her hair. He was showing his gentle and paternal side, there were only two people in the world who saw that side of him, Marlene and Tifa.
Suddenly, Tifa looked up, a small frown on her face.
"Did Marlene put you up to this?" she asked, Barret looked taken aback.
"What? No"
Tifa nodded. "Okay" she murmured, before burying her face in his chest.
"I'm so glad you're with me" said Tifa.
Barret smiled at her heartfelt words. "I'll always be with you, Teef"
7:00 a.m. Somewhere outside Edge
The chapel turned out to be a small but quaint little place sitting on top of a hill more than five miles beyond the city borders. Cloud could recall the time when he had once told Tifa about this quite little chapel, far away from the urban noises of Edge. She had expressed curiosity and asked him if he could take her there. The next day they made their way to the chapel, it had been a two-hour journey due to the traffic within the city. It was a hot, humid day, and Cloud was irritated because he had to travel to Rocket Town. However, the look on Tifa's face told him that all the sweat and thirst had been worth it. She didn't say a word, but Cloud knew that she had fallen in love with the place the instant she set eyes on it.
Cloud knew that it would have been Tifa who would have chosen such a small, humble place for her wedding. He was certain, that Reno, with his taste in 2000 gil suits, would not have even set his eyes on this chapel.
Cloud's heart was racing as Fenrir roared up the hill. He had not given a second thought as to what he might say to Tifa,
Tell her that I lover her
But what do you say? Cloud was never a person to talk about his feelings, and he was about to speak his heart to the woman he loved. Cloud grimaced, that was the problem, Tifa wasn't just the woman he loved. Their relationship had been through so much; Tifa was his friend, comrade, ally, and the one who held his deepest secrets. You couldn't just go up to someone like that and tell them I love you. Marry me. It was just too complicated.
I'm going to need help thought Cloud. But first I need to stop this wedding.
He brought Fenrir to a halt outside the entrance. An arch framed the entrance to the chapel, it was adorned with large letters painted in white that said Angel Groove Chapel Cloud dismounted his bike and hesitated for a moment. Should he bring his swords with him? He immediately shook his head at the idea, his swords may be his immobile companions but he was not looking for a fight, plus it was a bad idea to bring a sword into a chapel.
Cloud took a deep breath, and rubbed his chest. His heart was causing shockwaves that reverberated throughout his body. He had never been this nervous before in his life. He suddenly wished that Sephiorth and Meteor would return, handling that would have been much easier. He passed the entrance and discovered to his surprise a little garden around the chapel, it was nothing more than a small sparse lawn with a few bushes and flowers growing in random places, but it was nevertheless, pleasing to the eye to see a vessel of green and fresh plants amidst the barren desert. Taking a deep breath, Cloud walked up to the doors of the chapel and pushed them open.
The room was fairly small, half a dozen pews aligned in an orderly fashion, the place did not have windows, rather they were several doors on each side of the building that were thrown open allowing sunlight to flood the room. Cloud looked around, the place was empty, no decorations adorned the place, and there was nothing to indicate that a wedding would be taking place soon. Cloud frowned, what was going on? Did Yuffie give him the wrong address on purpose? If so, what was the point?
He growled angrily and turned around to leave, only to find two men blocking the entrance, both men were in T-shirts and jeans their stiff posture betrayed any pretence of being casual. Cloud immediately frowned in suspicion.
"Who are you?" he asked.
No response.
"There should be a wedding taking place soon" said Cloud. "Do you know anything about it?"
No response.
He frowned in annoyance. "If that's the case" he said. "I see no reason to stay here"
Cloud turned to leave through one of the many side doors.
"I'm afraid I can't let you leave, sir" spoke one of the men.
Cloud stopped in his tracks, a smirk on his face.
"Excuse Me?" he said, feeling slightly incredulous.
"I am afraid-"
"I heard you the first time" snapped Cloud, who was torn between amusement and irritation. "And let me tell you this, I don't care who you are or why you're here, but if you come in my way I will shove your head up your friend's ass, you hear me?"
"We are here to ensure your presence within the vicinity… by any means necessary" said one of the men, nothing in his tone indicated that he had heard Cloud.
"Piss off" murmured Cloud before walking away.
He heard someone running towards him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed one of the men running at him with a rod in his hand. Cloud had resolved that he would not get involved fights, but this man needed what was coming his way.
Smirking, Cloud immediately turned around and swung his fist at the guy. The man saw it coming and ducked. Using the momentum from his missed punch, Cloud spun around and brought his other fist up. He made contact with the man's stomach and he fell over, his entire upper body falling onto Cloud's arm. Clouds tossed him aside like a piece of garbage. He collapsed onto the ground gasping for breath. He struggled to his feet, his hands reaching for his rod. Cloud watched amused as he got to his feet, rod in one hand.
"You don't want to do this. Trust me on that one" said Cloud, feeling both irritated and amused. "And I don't want to fight you, I'm on a tight schedule, so why don't we just call it a truce and go our separate ways?"
Without saying a word, the man launched a kick to the side of Cloud's head. Cloud ducked underneath the leg, before launching a kick of his own. Cloud didn't kick the man hard, and he only staggered back. He charged at Cloud, waving his rod in the air. Cloud grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and slammed him against the wall of the chapel. The man gasped in pain.
"What are you doing here?" he snapped. "Why did you attack me?"
In response, the man shook his head, clearly indicating that he was not talking. Cloud growled and was about to yell at him when suddenly he noticed the weapon that fell to the floor. The weapon gleamed with familiarity and he immediately recognised it. His anger sparked into a burning rage as he turned back to the man, eyes blazing.
"You're a Turk" he hissed. "Reno sent you here, didn't he? You were sent to kill me!"
The man shook his head.
"To hold you here" he said. "Not to kill you"
Cloud growled and hit the man hard on his head. He fell to the floor unconscious.
Cloud immediately looked around, the man's partner was nowhere to be seen, and the chapel was empty. Cloud growled angrily to himself before using one of the side doors to leave the chapel. Who did Reno think he was? Sending people to kill him? How did he even know he was going to be here? Cloud made his way across the small garden where his faithful Fenrir was waiting for him.
Is Yuffie working with Reno? Thought Cloud.
His instincts told him no, Yuffie resented the Turks as much as he did, but she was willing to put up with them for Tifa's sake, but then again, there was no other explanation for what had just happened. Cloud shook his head angrily. There was no point thinking about unnecessary theories and possibilities. He needed to find out where the wedding was taking place and he had two hours to do it.
Cloud reached Fenrir and mounted the bike. He pushed down the lever with his left foot while setting the clutch; he pressed the ignition button expecting the bike to roar to life.
Nothing happened.
Frowning, Cloud repeated the process, this time pressing the ignition button a lot harder. The engine made a weak noise before sputtering and dying out.
Uh Oh thought Cloud. This isn't good.
He tried once again to turn on the engine, nothing happened.
"What the hell!" yelled Cloud, he checked the fuel meter, the reading indicated that the tank was full. So how come the engine wouldn't start? He turned back to the chapel, and recalled the two men who were inside.
We are here to ensure your presence within this vicinity, by any means necessary. T
hen, it hit him like a bolt of lightening.
The Turks had tampered with Fenrir, his bike.
Unable to hold back his temper, Cloud turned his head to the skies and yelled.
He was stranded more than five miles outside of Edge, and his only form of transport was not working.
8.00 am, Seventh Heaven
Tifa had never been so nervous and distraught in all her life, the past two weeks had been some of the most emotionally turbulent times in her life. It was hard to believe, that not more than a month ago, a clandestine relationship with Reno was the cause of so much happiness. She had once seen it as exciting, and now it felt wrong, as if she was cheating on Cloud.
Tifa took a deep breath trying to suppress any tears that would swell her eyes and ruin her mascara. Her thoughts returned to Cloud, she had not seen him since that night he had kissed her. She had hoped that the message she had left for him would have changed his mind. Tifa had hoped that Cloud would come to her and they would somehow solve this situation. But silence from Cloud, and Yuffie's words about his behaviour, killed any hope she might have had of getting out of this situation.
He's not coming she told herself, firmly. He's not coming even though you told him how you felt, he doesn't love you, and he never has.
A tear split down her cheeks. She hastily wiped it away; the last thing she needed to do was ruin her makeup by crying over a man who didn't reciprocate her feelings. For all she knew, Cloud was probably on his way to some far off place like Costa De Sol.
Tifa sighed with disappointment, as her train of thought continued to focus on Cloud. It had always been difficult deciphering Cloud's feelings. He was a private person who usually kept his thoughts and feelings wrapped up tightly, even she who knew him best. could not decipher the feelings within Cloud's heart, his thoughts or even his desires. Tifa thought that she finally knew him when he had kissed her that night in the church, Tifa thought that she finally realized his true desires, and now she wasn't sure if she knew him as well as she thought she did.
"Tifa"
Tifa immediately looked up recognizing the voice. Cloud was standing behind her, looking at her with his intense blue eyes. Tifa tired to ignore the surge of elation and happiness she felt at seeing him, she had no idea how he got in here, she had not heard the door open or close.
"How did you get in here?" she gasped, not moving from her seat.
"It doesn't matter" said Cloud. "What matters is what you're doing to yourself isn't right"
Tifa looked away. "What choice do I have, Cloud? I can't let anything happen to you or Denzel"
Cloud leaned over, so that his face was right next to hers.
"You have me," he whispered. "I'll protect you, I will keep you safe, Tifa, you are the only woman I've ever loved, my koibito"
Tifa was so overwhelmed that she was speechless.
"Cloud..." she gasped.
Cloud leaned in; his lips inches from hers, Tifa closed her eyes waiting for the kiss. It never came. Confused, Tifa opened her eyes and looked around. "Cloud?" The room was empty; there was no one apart from herself. Tifa gulped.
Don't cry now, Tifa she thought to herself. Whatever you do, don't start crying now,"
Tifa took a deep breath, trying to allay the weight of disappointment suffocating her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, determined not to cry, this was her wedding day, and people simply did not cry on their wedding day.
When Tifa had settled down and opened Seventh Heaven, she had been very optimistic about the future. She had a steadfast belief that fate would be kind to her after all that she gone through since she was sixteen. But today clearly showed that this was not the case. She was marrying a man she no longer loved because Denzel's life was in danger; she had come to love that boy as if she was his own and Tifa would do anything in her power to make sure he was his safe, even if it meant giving herself up to a man she no longer loved.
Tifa had thought about telling either Yuffie or Barret about the threat Tseng had posed. She was certain Barret would go berserk and tear the man into pieces. But she was sure that Tseng was expecting this and had a plan to subdue all her friends, and she refused to drag the people she loved into the pit hole with her.
Tifa shook her head with a grimace, knowing that she wasn't being honest with herself.
Come on, Tifa she thought. There's another reason why you're not telling Barret about Tseng.
It was not another reason it was the only reason. Tifa was marrying Reno not because Tseng had threatened Denzel, but because Cloud had not answered her phone call, he had not replied to her message, and he had turned away from her call of love.
A knock on the door jarred Tifa out of her thoughts.
"Come, in" she said. She knew who it was the moment the person knocked.
Yuffe peeped into the room. She had shed her Wutian clothes for a dress of pale purple that hung loosely on to her body.
Tifa smiled at her. "You look beautiful, Yuffie"
The ninja smiled. "Nothing compared to you, you ready? Got your jacket?"
"Yeah, let's go"
Tifa left her room and closed the door behind her. Yuffie fell behind as they made their way down the corridor, through the bar and out of the house.
The street was bathed in sunlight, causing the dull buildings to look brighter than usual. There were three sleek, black, elegant cars just outside the bar with the drivers standing beside them. The third and final one was directly in front of her. A driver leaned over and opened the door for her. Tifa stepped inside closely followed by Yuffie.
Tifa turned to her friend.
"Where's Barret" she said. "I thought he was coming with us"
Yuffie affirmed Tifa's statement with a nod.
"He is, but he said that he wants to ride with Reno"
Tifa nodded, she wouldn't be surprised if Barret was taking the opportunity to give Reno a pep talk.
"Look there they are!" said Yuffie.
Tifa casually turned around to look through the window. She could recognise Barret's burly form, and Reno's vivid red hair as they made their way towards the first car.
"Oooh! Look how hot Reno is!" gushed Yuffie, she turned back to Tifa, a small smile on her face. "I can see why you are marrying him"
Tifa merely nodded before turning to look out from her window. She was determined to speak as little as possible out of fear that her voice would betray her and all her emotions would spill out. Tifa took a deep breath to steady herself as the driver turned back to them.
"Reno wanted me to tell you that there has been a change in plan" he said, looking at Tifa.
The brunette glared at him.
"What change of plan?" she said, sharply.
"There has been a change in venue" he said.
Tifa's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"
"Angel Groove Chapel outside the city is simply too far and does not have adequate capacity to hold all the guests. Octium Church on the other hand is much larger and within the city"
For a moment, Tifa was furious.
"So he changed the venue without telling me in advance?" she said angrily.
"He can't do that" said Yuffie, feeling annoyed.
"I am sorry I have to be the one to tell you this" said the driver, nothing in his robotic tone indicated that he was genuinely sorry. "But Reno is my superior and I have my orders"
Tifa was about to yell at the driver when she suddenly realized that she didn't have the strength, nor the stomach to start a ruckus over a small chapel.
"Fine" she murmured.
Let's get this over with She thought to herself.
Yuffie stared at her in surprise.
"Tifa" she started.
"It doesn't matter, Yuffie" said Tifa. "It's just a chapel, no big deal"
"But it is a big deal-"
"Can we go!" yelled Tifa, determined not to talk about this anymore. "Now!"
The driver nodded, and started the engine. The remaining two cars started up in unison. The first car drove off followed by the second, and finally, the third. Tifa stared outside her window, looking wistfully at the buildings, trying her best to ignore the worried looks that Yuffie was giving her.
7.00 a.m. Hotel Ritz
Reno grumbled as he attempted to comb his usually messy hair. Today was the last day he would be staying in this hotel, a thought that cheered him up considerably. The Turk had been forced to get a room after Yuffie had kicked him out of Tifa's house, reciting that tiresome cliché.
"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding"
"Stupid, Wutian" he murmured, thinking about Yuffie.
For the past few days, Reno had occupied the room with no one but Rude for company, who occasionally dropped by for a drink and a chat. He was denied the pleasure of Tifa's company (he was certain he would feel more excited about the wedding once he saw her). But while it had been lonely, and not to mention, boring for Reno, it did have it's advantages. Since he was alone, had been able to prepare for Cloud and his lackeys without fear of being interrupted. He was certain, beyond any doubt, that if left to himself, Cloud would burst in what could be the most important day of his life and ruin it for him. What was worse was that he was certain that Tifa was hoping that Cloud would disrupt proceedings. Reno had no faith in Cloud's lackeys either, Barret Wallace and Cid Highwind. He knew that they returned his feelings of intense dislike, and would help Cloud in ruining his day. Reno couldn't have it, he couldn't have his Tifa taken away from him.
After years of promiscuous girls, and endless missions for Shinra (many of which were brutal if not atrocious) Reno wanted a nice woman to settle down with and lead a peaceful life, someone to cook his meals and wash his clothes. Reno genuinely liked Tifa Lockheart, she was a special woman, hotter than most of the women he had dated, and with too much integrity to cheat on her man. Tifa was the sort of person that Reno wanted to settle down with.
Unfortunately, there was a problem of her childhood friend Cloud Strife, throughout the months Reno had dated Tifa, she would always tell him that her relationship with Cloud was platonic and that they were nothing more than friends. But Reno was not foolish; one did not rise through the ranks of the Turks if they put too much faith in empty words. Childhood friendship was sweet and romantic; at least that's what Elena said, and Reno always suspected Cloud to be the one who could disrupt his relationship with Tifa. Unfortunately, as much as Reno resented Cloud, he couldn't just have him killed as he would he liked to. Cloud was too important to Tifa, and furthermore, he was a former SOLDIER who had defeated Sephiroth twice. Reno was certain that if Sephiroth couldn't beat Cloud then nothing could. The best Reno could do, was outsmart Cloud.
Reno's cell phone rang, the usually soft tune unusually loud to his ears. Reno crossed from the toilet into his bedroom and picked up the phone, and flipped it open.
"Reno" he said curtly.
"Sir" came the reply.
Reno recognised the voice. "Nunchaku?" he said. "How did it go?"
"Operation was a mixed bag"
Reno raised his eyebrows, a momentary feeling of dread flashed through his mind.
"What?"
"Rod managed to disable the bike successfully," he said. "But he also engaged target in direct hand-to-hand combat"
Reno groaned.
Moran he thought to himself, he already knew the outcome of the fight without any clarification needed.
"Your orders were not to engage him!" he snapped. "What part of that sentence couldn't you understand?"
"Target tried to leave the vicinity, sir, we had little choice"
That's always the problem when dealing with Cloud Strife thought Reno.
"Tell me that he's safe?" He would hate it if one of his team mates were seriously injured or worse.
"He's fine, managed to retrieve him and we're on our way to Edge"
"Good" Reno smirked to himself, as he flipped his phone closed, everything was going according to plan, by the time Cloud reached Edge he and Tifa would be on their way to their honeymoon.
A cough jarred him out of his thoughts. Reno turned around to see Rude standing at the doorway, wearing his sunglasses and trademark stoical expression.
"That was Nunchaku, wasn't it?" he said.
Reno glared at him.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"What are you up to, Reno?" asked Rude.
"I don't know what you mean" snapped Reno turning towards his bed and taking the socks he had set out earlier.
"You're planning something" said Rude.
He had not moved from his position, nothing in his stoical position hinted at his feelings.
"Yeah, you're right I'm planning something" responded Reno, now putting on his shirt and trousers.
"They're called wedding vows"
"On the phone with Nunchaku and Rod?" asked Rude. "Those guys aren't the sentimental types"
"Whatever" snapped Reno, now putting on his shirt.
Reno usually took meticulous time and painstaking effort when it came to his clothes, but Rude's comments had disturbed him, causing him to rush through the process. Rude noticed Reno's change in attitude and frowned.
"What do you want, Rude?" said Reno. "Why are you here?"
"I'm suppose to pick you up" said Rude. "Cars are waiting at Seventh Heaven, they'll take us to the church"
Reno looked at Rude. "I thought I wasn't allowed to see the bride before the wedding" he said. "Yuffie and I will make sure that you don't see Tifa before that… well…actually Yuffie and Elena"
"Fine" said Reno.
He grabbed his tie and walked up to Rude, who was a foot taller than him.
"Let's go" he said attempting to shove past his friend.
"Reno, wait" said Rude, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Reno looked at the gloved hand in surprise. Rude hardly touched anyone, unless it was to punch someone.
"I'm your partner" said Rude. "It's my job to watch your back whenever you're in danger"
"Yeah, thanks for the memo" said Reno.
"I'm also your friend" continued Rude, frowning. "And as your friend 'watching your back' takes on a whole different meaning"
Reno raised an eyebrow. "What's that suppose to mean?"
Rude stared at Reno for a few moments, before turning away from his partner.
"Let's go"
For a few seconds, Reno stared at Rude, trying hard to process what he had just said. After a few minutes, he gave it up with a shrug and followed his partner.
8.35 a.m. Streets of Edge
Sitting at one end of the car, Barret glared at Reno as if he was trying to drill a hole into his head. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Reno turned towards Barret.
"Is there something bothering you?" he said. "Or you just forgot how to smile?"
Barret continued to glare at Reno. "I can see that Tifa ain't marrying you for your sense of humour" he remarked.
Reno rolled his eyes.
"She's marrying me for my perks, big guy"
Barret frowned.
"Tifa ain't that shallow to marry someone for perks," he snapped. "If you think that's what she's like then you've got her figured out all wrong"
"What do you want Barret?" asked Reno. "I let you ride with me only because you're important to Tifa, otherwise I would have just dumped you in the second car with the others"
Barret growled like an agitated cat, resisting the urge to pummel Reno.
"I'm here to talk about Tifa and your marriage"
Reno looked over and raised an eyebrow at him, as if he simply couldn't be bothered to listen to Barret.
"Tifa has been through a lot" he said. "And no thanks to that damn company you used to work for"
"The one which you destroyed" murmured Reno, under his breath. Barret ignored the comment.
"This is the time of Tifa's life when she should get the peace and happiness she has earned" said Barret. "And you're gonna make damn sure that you're going to spend every waking minute of your life making her happy. If I get any wind that you ain't treating her right you gonna answer to me. I ain't her father, but I've raised her since she was sixteen and love her like my own daughter, and let me make this pretty clear to you. I tend to get pretty angry when someone don't treat my family right, and you don't wanna see me angry. Clear?"
Reno stared blankly in front of him, whether he was listening to Barret's words or simply daydreaming it was hard to tell. It was pretty obvious, however, that he was not respecting Barret or his words.
"Whatever" he replied, smiling. "We're here," he said.
Reno turned to Barret with a smirk. "Time to give that lovely daughter of yours away"
Barret clenched his fists in anger.
How can Tifa marry a guy like this?
He thought to himself, angrily. Barret loved Tifa like his own daughter, but she was also woman, and at times, women tended to be strange creatures.
Barret got down from the car and observed the building they had stopped at. From it's dull, stone exterior Barret could tell that this wasn't a new church but a rather old one. He was certain that before Edge was developed, the church was situated on the outskirts of Midgar so as to stay clear of the traffic noises. Barret found it ironic that the church was now in the centre of the traffic hub of a new city.
"You coming in?" called a voice.
Reno was standing at the double oak doors, holding one open. Barret turned towards the road, several cars zoomed in and out of sight, but theirs was the only car that was parked alongside the street.
"Where are the other cars?" he asked, looking at Reno.
The Turk shrugged in response "Must have been caught in traffic" he said. "We've got plenty of time to prepare. Don't worry"
Barret nodded, though he was still suspicious. Reno was still holding the door open him. Barret continued to glare at the man, clearly not trusting his motives. Reno was being too nice for his liking, according to Barret's book; Turks were hardly nice unless they had something in mind. Barret scrutinised the Turk, knowing that reading people wasn't his greatest talent. Reno was staring back at him with a neutral look, not betraying a hint of emotion. Finally, Barret grudgingly accepted Reno's act of hospitality and entered the church, and gasped at what he saw.
The church was a derelict mess. There were several wooden pews; some were broken, while others looked like woodlice have ravaged them. A stained glass painting, cracked in certain places, adorned the wall above the altar. Tiles were cracked and broken in certain places, stains of dirt and mud caked the once white walls. A chandelier dangled dangerously above the floor by a broken chain, A stale smell hung about the air. Barret stared, aghast at the church, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Da hell is goin' on here!" he yelled, whirling around to face Reno, but Reno was no longer standing at the entrance.
In fact, he wasn't anywhere inside the church. Instead, Barret was now looking at a group of people. One of the men, a tall, lean man with blonde hair slicked back, turned around facing the entrance, and began fumbling with something in his hands. Barret could not see what he was doing, but a moment later he heard a click. The blonde man turned around and Barret saw a huge padlock and a chain around the door handles.
"Da hell are you doin?" roared Barret, though he already an idea what was going on.
"Our orders were to ensure that you maintain your presence within the area, Barret Wallace" said the blonde Turk. "We're not seeking a fight so please kindly remain cooperative and we will let you go at the designated time"
Barret growled angrily. "If you think you can keep me here" he said, softly. "You're damn well mistaken!"
"It would be mutually preferable if you do not resist" said the blonde Turk. "We will be forced to respond harshly to any form of violence"
Barret let a loud roar of anger, and held out his arm, the machine gun whirred to life. "Let's see what you've Turks got" he said.
8.45 a.m. Rocket Town
"Shera will yeh move yeh frickin' tosh already?" yelled Cid, puffing on his cigar. "I takes about half an hour to reach Edge! Not teh mention I've gotta find a parking space for the Shera"
"I don't see what's the hurry, Cid" called Shera gaily, her voice echoing from their room. She knew that Cid would be grumpier than usual. Weddings were never his cup of tea, especially when the wedding involved the Turks.
"The wedding wouldn't start till 10:30, and put that cigar out! You'll smell like tobacco at church!"
"I ain't smoking! Quit nagging!" yelled Cid, hastily putting out his cigar.
Just then his PDA rang.
"Cid will you get it?"
Cid ran a hand through his hair before getting up from the couch and picking up his PDA. He glanced at the caller ID.
"Unknown" he murmured. "That doesn't sound good"
He accepted the call and pressed it to his ear.
"Whose this?" he snapped.
"The wedding of Reno Cook and Tifa Lockheart is not at 10: 30 but at 9:30" said a deep voice.
"I said who the hell is this?" roared Cid. "And whattya mean the wedding is at 9.30?"
Shera entered the room with a look of concern on her face.
"The invitation that was sent to you was a fake"
"What!"
"It deliberately stated the wrong time so that you would miss the wedding"
"Why would Tifa-"
"Cloud Strife is stranded outside Edge, near Angel Groove Chapel. Hurry, there's not much time"
"Whattya talking through yeh hat for?" yelled Cid.
But the phone was dead. Shera approached him.
"Cid, who was that?"
"Some crazy douche bag saying that the wedding is at 9:30"
"What!" said Shera alarmed. "The wedding is in 45 minutes!"
"Hold on to yeh horses, Shera!" he yelled. "I don't know who just called. It could be a trap of all we know"
"But wasn't that one your friends from AVALANCHE?" asked Shera.
"Hey, I won't call any of my friends a 'douche bag'" snapped Cid. "Except maybe Barret. But that's beside the point, he's not involved in the wedding, only Yuffie"
"Well, perhaps you should call her"
"But!"
"No, buts Cid!" snapped Shera, flaring up. "You will call Yuffie now!"
"Alright woman keep yeh hair on" He dialled in Yuffie's number, and waited for a few minutes.
"No answer" Shera's eyes widened.
"If she's not answering her PDA then she's either preparing for the wedding or It could start at any moment!"
Cid shrugged. "There could be a million reasons why Yuffie is not picking up her phone"
The couple stared at each other for a moment.
"Cid, get your coat now!"
"I still ain't sure about this, Shera" said Cid, he clearly wasn't trusting the anonymous caller.
"Well, I am, and I'm telling you to get your coat!"
Cid grumbled and left the room.
"There's no way we can make the wedding in time, not with just forty-five minutes left"
"We still have to try, Cid" said Shera, who seemed to have made up her mind.
Cid growled angrily before turning towards the main door of the house. He opened it and held it open for her.
"Let's go"
9:15 a.m. Octium Church
Tifa was preparing for the event that would change the course of her life. The brunette was still having difficulty accepting the sad reality of her situation. A sad reality thought Tifa.
My life has been nothing but a sad reality She sighed, she could hear the soft music of the choir and the humdrum of people talking.
"Tifa" She froze.
Oh God she thought It can't be, not now
Slowly, Tifa turned around, hoping against hope that it wasn't the person who she thought it was. Cloud was standing there; he was sweating, as if he had ran a mile. Tifa immediately turned away upon seeing him.
"What do you want, Cloud?" she said.
"So you're actually going through with this?"
For some reason, he sounded sad and hurt. "Yes" she said, curtly.
"Why shouldn't I? Reno loves me and I love him"
A pause, Tifa thought that Cloud had walked away; she jumped when she felt someone touch her elbow. Tifa turned around and found herself looking into Cloud's eyes.
"Cloud" she gasped.
"Tifa, please listen" said Cloud, the tone of his voice was so soft it made Tifa shiver.
"Do you really love him?" he asked. "Can you really look at me and tell me that you want to spend the rest of your life with Reno? Can you really picture yourself in that man's arms and be happy?"
Tifa turned away from Cloud's intense stare. Cloud and Tifa were inches apart, their foreheads touching in an intimate gesture, his breath tingled her skin as she tried her best to be rational.
No she thought The answer is no, but I can't tell you that, Cloud
"Reno cares about me" said Tifa, as if that was the answer.
Cloud frowned at her. "He does not love you" he said.
"Because he's a Turk?" she snapped.
"Because he's not me" said Cloud, sincerely. "He doesn't have our history, our friendship, our trust-"
At the word trust, Tifa gently shoved Cloud and turned away from him.
"Trust? Did you trust me to help you when you had Geostigma? Did you trust me to help you when you had a hard time accepting Aerith's death?"
Silence was the answer.
Tifa hung her head, torn between disappointment and dread. Tifa wanted to talk about why he left, but was he ready to talk about it?
"It had nothing to do with trust" said Cloud. "I didn't want to burden you with my problems, you deserved to be happy after everything we've been through, I wanted you to be happy, I wanted to protect you…and I thought leaving was the best solution because…. you wouldn't have to watch me die"
Tifa turned to look at him to respond, but he wasn't finished.
"But there was also another reason" He paused, and Tifa suddenly became aware of her heart thudding so hard in her chest that it hurt, the tension in the air was so thick she thought that she would suffocate.
Cloud continued to talk.
"I felt that by dying alone I would be making up for all my failures"
"Failures?"
"I failed to protect you and Marlene-"
"Failed to protect Aerith?"
Cloud looked at her in surprise, before looking away.
"Partly" he said.
Tifa took a deep breath, now was the time, it was now or never.
"Did you love her?"
Cloud looked at her again, before looking away. This was a question that she dreaded to ask, but she had to know.
"Sometimes I think I did" he said honestly.
For a split second Tifa's heart stopped, this was not what she was expecting.
"What do you mean?" she asked, breathlessly.
"Aerith was different" he said. "In a world where everyone had to learn to protect themselves, she relied on others for protection, she was so innocent…almost naïve in a sense…she turned to me and I. …failed her"
Tifa suddenly felt compassion for him. She walked up to him, and gently cupped his face in her hand, forcing her to look at him.
"You know that she didn't die for nothing?" she said. "She saved us all. Saved you from the stigma"
"I know" said Cloud, taking her hand in his. "I found comfort in that, knowing that she lived on in the Lifestream, but when I was dying all my failures hit me hard, and I thought that perhaps the people I cared about were better off without me"
Tifa immediately shook his hand off, and backed away, glaring at Cloud with undisguised anger.
"Tifa?"
"How could you say that?" she hissed. "How could you just dismiss the people who love you like they mean nothing?"
"Tifa! The people I care about mean the world to me!" said Cloud, loudly.
"Then did you ever think that by running off you made things worse rather than better?" said Tifa. "I was so worried Cloud! You took off and abandoned us just when we needed you, I was so confused and hurt and lost!"
"Tifa, I never meant to hurt you" said Cloud.
"No, Cloud" said Tifa, coldly. "You seem to do that effortlessly"
"That's not fair" he hissed. "How do you think I felt, Tifa? I thought our life together: you, me, Marlene and Denzel was a chance for me, for us to start over. To make right the wrongs I did. How do you think I felt when I found out that I was going to die with no hope of a cure? How do you think I felt when I found out that Denzel had the stigma? God Tifa…"
He turned away; clearly the intense feeling was getting to him too. Tifa stood in silence, they should have had this discussion ages ago, before this mess took place. Could they really turn from a path they were on?
"I thought I was going to lose you" he said. "And I handled it the best way I could"
Tifa took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the emotions bubbling in her.
"You could have done a lot better than running away" she said. "We needed you, Cloud"
"I know" said Cloud, turning to face her. "I know now that running away is never an answer. But Tifa, aren't you running?"
Tifa frowned in confusion.
"What?" Cloud walked up to her closing the gap between them with perilous intimacy.
"You're marrying Reno when you don't love him. Isn't that running away?"
Tifa's first instinct was to yell at Cloud and tell him that it was none of his business. But hesitated, Cloud was opening up to her, and she in turn had to open up to him. He would never be as honest again as he was now if she rebuked his words. So she decided to speak the truth.
"Reno maybe a lot of things, Cloud" said Tifa. "But at least I know what he wants from me"
She didn't need to look at Cloud to know that he was feeling annoyed.
"And what's that?" he said. "Someone to cook his food, someone to wash his clothes?"
"What I am trying to say, Cloud" interrupted Tifa. "Is that he doesn't make it so difficult for me….not like you"
Tifa met Cloud's eyes as she spoke these final lines. She stared into those blue depths, feeling enthralled, she gulped as she waited for his response.
"I'm the reason you started dating Reno"
Tifa gasped in surprise, those were not the words she was expecting, but he finally understood the truth.
"He made me feel wanted" she said, for some reason Tifa couldn't look at him and turned away as she spoke.
"I didn't feel like someone on the outside who was trying to look in, I didn't feel like an outcast and at the time it was exactly what I needed. The truth is Cloud" she looked up at him, filled with a need to look him in the eye as she said these words.
He was studying her intently.
"It's so difficult to know what you truly want out of life, out of me, out of anything, and sometimes, I just feel so lost when I'm thinking about you, and I don't like feeling lost Cloud, I really don't" she added.
Nothing changed in Cloud's expression, he was studying her, and drinking every word she was saying. Normally such attention from Cloud would have unnerved Tifa, but she was on tirade about her emotions that she did not notice, it had been bottled up for so long, that to finally express them was a relief, which was futile to express in words.
She continued to speak. "I know you're not the sort of man who talks about his feelings all the time, and I respect that, but sometimes…a little clue about how you feel at times would have really helped me. I thought that after so many years, and after being through so much that you could open up to me as I wanted to open up to you…. But there was always a part of you that you kept closed and it just made me feel so cut out. One day I feel like I know you, but the next day you're someone completely different and sometimes…. It scared me because I thought that I had figured you out all wrong"
She paused. " Reno doesn't do that, he doesn't deliberately hold back who he is, and I don't feel so confused when I'm with him"
An awkward pause followed these words, Tifa felt utterly exhausted, she had never had such an emotional and extensive talk about her feelings with anyone, let alone Cloud. For some reason she couldn't look up at him as she awaited his response for she did not know how she would react, would he be angry? Sad? Would he isolate himself? Would he run away?
"Tifa, look at me"
Reluctantly, Tifa looked at him.
"You think that you don't know me? The truth is you're the only one who knows me, Tifa, the only one who understands me. You know all my secrets, to other people I'm like a map that cannot be read, but with you…you know me so well Tifa, yes you do" he said, at the look of disbelief on her face. "No woman would have put up with me the way you did, no woman is as patient with me the way you are. Some people can spend a lifetime searching for what we have and sometimes it scares the hell out of me"
Caught up in his passion, he had grabbed Tifa's arms and held her still.
"When I seem aloof and distant it's only because I think you understand how I feel"
"But I don't, Cloud"
"And we can fix that, I can change, there's nothing that we can't get through. If Sephiorth and Geostigma can't break us apart then this shouldn't"
Tifa's breathing had gone shallow, overwhelmed by what Cloud was saying, she had no idea that he could be so intense. Cloud leaned in closer, for a moment Tifa thought he was going to kiss her and she opened her mouth to squawk in protest.
But instead, he whispered. "Don't marry Reno" he said. "Don't do this to yourself, don't do this to us"
Tifa turned away, "I wish it were that simple, Cloud, I really wish it were" she said, thinking of Denzel. "But-"
"No!" hissed Cloud, and Tifa was startled by the intensity in his voice.
"Don't tell me you love Reno, because you don't, and don't tell me he loves you because I know he doesn't…Tifa look at me!"
Surprised, Tifa looked up and was immediately mesmerised by his blue eyes.
"To him you are nothing more than just another pretty face, but to me...you are my dreams, my hopes, and my inspiration…. that guy can never love you the way I can. The way you deserve to be loved"
Emotions overwhelmed Tifa, and for a moment she thought she was going to breakdown. She had never until this moment, realized how much she loved the man standing before her, and if it were up to her she would have walked out of the church with Cloud, but she couldn't just think about herself. Tseng had made sure of that.
Besides, how did she know that he would be true to his word? How did she know that he wouldn't run away every time things got rough? How did she know that he wouldn't become the distant, morbid Cloud she saw when he had the stigma? As if sensing the doubt in her mind, Cloud held up her chin and looked at her intently as if searching her soul. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, Cloud kissed her.
The kiss was an exact reflection of the feelings coursing through them, intense and passionate, all thoughts flew from Tifa's mind as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue toyed with her lips, begging for access, and she gave it to him, wanting to drown herself in this feeling. Cloud wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, his tongue plundering her mouth with desire. Tifa moaned, not because of Cloud's technique, but because of the emotions coursing through them, the chemistry and sexual tension built up over the days, perhaps months was channelled into that one kiss.
Cloud's hand gently caressed her hair before resting on her cheek, Tifa began circling Cloud's tongue with her own, determined to take the kiss to another level. A knock on the door resounded through the room.
"Tifa, are you there?"
Tifa broke the kiss while gasping for breath. "Tifa? Is everything okay?"
Tifa turned to the door with a panicked look on her face.
"Everything's fine, Yuffie" she said.
Tifa turned back to Cloud who was looking at her with an expectant look on her face. She stood in the centre of the room not knowing what to do or say. Part of her wanted to run off with Cloud, another part told her that she couldn't just abandon Denzel to Tseng's mercy. Tifa, looked up at Cloud, the expression on her face told him everything.
"Don't do this, Tifa" he said. "You can't do this"
"I don't have a choice, Cloud" she said.
Cloud gaped at her.
"What do you mean?" he said."There's always a choice"
"No" she said. "There isn't"
Cloud frowned at her.
"What's going on, Tifa?" he said. "Tell me what's going on"
"What do you mean?"
"Something's up. I know you don't want to marry Reno but you are still going through with this. Why?"
Tifa sighed and looked away, the situation was so volatile. If she told Cloud that Tseng had threatened Denzel he would be furious and charge into the wedding….then all panic will ensue.
"Tifa, when I had the stigma you told me not to run, so along as we had a family we could fight anything. Tell me what's going on?"
A knock on the door jarred Tifa out of her thoughts.
"Tifa?" It was Reno. "We're almost ready. Thought I'd let you know"
"Right" yelled Tifa.
She listened tensely as she heard Reno's footsteps fade away, before turning back to Cloud.
"I have to go, Cloud" she said. "The wedding's about to start"
Cloud looked at her as if she had transformed into the Midgar Zolom.
"What?" said Cloud. "After everything you told me about family, you're willing to walk away from me, from Marlene, from Denzel, all for some loser"
"I'm doing this for our family Cloud, please try and see that" said Tifa, flinching at the mention of Denzel.
Cloud glared at her angrily.
"What does he have that I don't?"
Tifa stared, amazed at his change in tone. "What?"
"Tell me Tifa, is it the money? The snazzy clothes? That jerk attitude of his? Does it turn you on?"
Without realizing what she was doing, she drew her hand back and slapped him hard. The impact left a raw red handprint on Cloud's cheek. He did not turn back to face her.
"How could you say that?" whispered Tifa, more hurt than angry. "After everything we've been through, after everything that's just been said, is that what you really think of me? Some low life gold digger?"
"You insist on marrying him, even though you don't like him. What else am I suppose to think?"
An awkward silence followed this statement. Neither of them not knowing what to do or say.
"Get out" whispered Tifa, pointing at the door.
"Tifa-"
"OUT! I don't want to hear it! I'm done talking"
For a few seconds, Cloud stood still staring at Tifa, unable to believe that she was still going to marry someone else in spite of everything they had just talked about. Tifa looked away, avoiding the accusing stare. Finally, after what seemed like hours Cloud walked towards the door, he placed his hand on the handle before turning back to look at the woman who rejected him. Tifa stood still, not trusting herself to stay mad at him if she turned to look at him. Finally, she heard the door open and close softly, and she was alone. Tifa covered her face with her hands as a tear spilled onto her face. Cloud's words were the final straw, she couldn't take it anymore, she sank to her knees as she finally let loose the grief that had been building inside her for so long.
9:30 am Octium Church
Yuffie had warned her that the church was filled with people. At least a hundred pairs of eyes (or so it seemed to Tifa) were following her as she walked down the church in time with the music. Tifa recognised some of the people as workers from the WRO, she saw Reeve in the crowd but most of the people were clearly Reno's friends.
"What's with the black dress?"
"That is not appropriate wedding attire!"
"She looks hot, though"
"That's not the point!"
Tifa's shoulders involuntarily stiffened as she heard this comments and she suddenly became extremely self-conscious as everyone continued to stare at her. Above the altar, was a spectacular glass painting of golden crown with a cross in the middle. Light flodded through the glass painting sheding light in various colours across the room.
Tifa finally reached the altar; Reno offered his hand as she came up to him. Tifa gave him a polite smile as they both stood in front of the priest. The priest was an old man, with thinning grey hair and a wrinkled face that resembled a shrivelled prune; his grey eyes swivelled from Tifa to Reno and back to Tifa, taking into account her dress. He began to speak in a squeaky voice.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the matrimonial union of these two people"
"Don't you mean the woman in the black dress?"
Tifa resisted the urge to roll her eyes and focused on what the priest was saying.
"If anyone feels that these two people should not be joined together in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace"
Silence followed this statement, if there was anytime to stop this wedding and averting disaster, now was the moment. For a brief moment, Tifa was torn between speaking for herself and keeping silent, she managed to maintain control of her feelings Her ruby brown eyes briefly scanning the crowd. Just as she expected, nobody moved nor did they say anything. Tifa took a deep breath as she fought the urge to run away.
"Since there is no one here to oppose this wedding"
Unfortunately thought Tifa.
"Shall we proceed to the vows?"
At this point, Reno turned towards Rude who handed him a small notebook. The Turk opened the book, and began to recite the words.
"From the moment I met you…"
From his loud, monotonous tone Tifa could tell that he was not the one who had written the words. There was no feeling, no expression, no eye contact, just bland reading. Tifa resisted the urge to sigh, and prepared for her turn to recite the vows. Reno's voice was so bland that every word he said slipped through Tifa's attention. Tifa could not believe that there was a time when she wanted to marry this man.
Eventually, Reno's drone about love and commitment came to an end and he looked up at her with a smirk on his face. Suddenly, the spotlight was on her, everyone in the church swivelled his or her eyes onto Tifa. Slowly, she turned towards Yuffie, who was standing not too far away from her. Yuffie handed her the notebook, and she opened it to the page where she first wrote her vows. Tifa took a deep breath and looked at the page.
Tifa's mind suddenly went blank.
The words she was staring at were written a few weeks ago, before Cloud found out about her covert relationship with Reno. Staring at the words, Tifa found it hard to believe that she had written them thinking about Reno, or at least, the man she thought Reno was. Tifa opened her mouth to recite the words, but no sound came out. Tifa cleared her throat, as quietly as she could and tried to speak.
"When I first met you. I felt alone, confused and hurt" she took a deep breath. "I wasn't sure about my place in this world. I didn't know where I belonged or to whom I was meant to be with…."
She stopped. Somehow saying these words just didn't feel right, at least not to Reno. Tifa looked up at the man, he wasn't smirking any longer, but smiling encouragingly. Tifa's eyes took in his spiky red hair, his bright brown eyes and his surprisingly neat suit.
There was a time when she had truly loved this man, but she now realized that the love was like a flame on a wicker candle, fleeting and easily wiped out. Her feelings for Cloud were like a tornado, just thinking about him sent her into a whirlwind of dreams. Her feelings for him were unpredictable, one minute she wanted to hit him and the next she wanted to kiss him. The conversation they had just minutes ago was proof of that.
It was this unpredictability about their love that made her doubt the possibility of a relationship with Cloud. Tifa knew that one needed more than just love to make a relationship work, but was Cloud at that stage? Was he ready to be in a serious relationship? With Reno she knew that she would be treated well, but she would never love him and she was sure that any feelings he had for her would wane over time. But there was reassurance in the fact that she could see where it would go five years from now, no matter how depressing the scenario looked, with Cloud it was difficult to predict where the next two weeks would go.
It was in this frame of thinking, did Tifa decide to continue with the vows.
"The past few years have been hard on me, I've lost people whom I've loved, I was uprooted from my home and I've had to constantly struggle with the demons that plagued my life"
Her voice was much louder and much more clearer than before. "I know that you will provide me with reprieve from any demons that come my way in the future…"
She paused, she hesitated at the words I love you, I trust you and promise to adore you with all my heart She decided to skip most of the sentence.
"I promise to adore you with all my heart"
Tifa looked up at Reno, feeling her heart bleeding as she did so. Reno gave her a satisfied nod. Having heard the vows, the priest now spoke.
"The rings. You may now exchange the rings"
Tifa was suddenly hit with the urge to run away, she forced the impulse away and with serene calmness, she turned towards Marlene. The little girl came up to her carrying a red velvet cushion, beaming at her as she did so. Tifa took the ring from her, smiling at Marlene. Tifa looked up at Reno and saw him holding the ring in his hand. Tentatively, she held out her right hand to him, he reached out and tried to place the ring on her stared at the gold ring, there was something binding about that circular object, binding, solid and inescapable.
Acting on impulse, she withdrew her hand before Reno could place the ring. The Turk looked up at her surprised.
"Tifa?" said Reno.
Tifa could hear the crowd whispering. Tifa took a deep breath trying to steady her fluttering nerves, marrying someone you didn't really love was harder than she thought. "Tifa" said Reno, there was a warning ring to his tone as he spoke. Tifa glanced past him towards Tseng, the Turk was looking away from her, his eyes locked on someone. Tifa's eyes followed his and she saw Denzel, looking at her with confusion written all over his face. The young boy seemed oblivious to the man staring at him, Tifa gave Denzel a warm smile before turning back to Reno. Tifa couldn't turn back now, not when the boy's life was at stake.
Tifa turned back to Reno, and held out her hand, determined not to pull away. Smiling, Reno brought the ring forward, closer…closer…closer..
A loud crash echoed through the church and she jumped. People cried out and pointed towards the glass painting above the altar, Tifa followed their gaze and gasped as she saw the cause of the noise.
There was a huge hole in the glass were somebody had smashed it to pieces. A man entered the church through the hole and immediately looked down towards the altar.
A man with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Tifa was temporarily robbed of breath as she looked at Cloud with his cocky grin. She resisted the urge to smile, as he did a back flip and landed on the altar right next to the priest. The old man stared at the blonde warrior with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Sorry, father" said Cloud. "But there's been a change of plan"
Yuffie was furious. "Cloud, you idiot!" she yelled, throwing the bouquet she had at Cloud's face. "I told you not to interrupt this wedding"
Cloud ignored Yuffie, and walked over to Tifa and curled his fingers around Tifa's hand. The crowd began to whisper, as Cloud glared at Reno.
"What the hell are you doing, Strife?" he hissed.
"Tifa's coming with me" said Cloud. "And there's nothing you can do about it"
Reno growled in anger, and pulled a gleaming rod from the depths of his coat. The whispers from the crowd increased with fervour.
"I knew you would do this" hissed Reno, angrily. "I knew it and I will not let you ruin this day for me!"
"Is that why you had Fenrir tampered with?" snapped Cloud. "Is that why you ambushed Barret in some rundown place?"
Tifa looked confused. "Cloud?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" snapped Reno, launching an attack.
"Reno, no!" yelled a voice, who Tifa recognised was Elena.
Tifa felt Cloud push her away as Reno charged at him. He raised his rod and swung down hard at Cloud's head. Cloud caught the blow effortlessly and twisted Reno's arm, who yelled in surprise and fell to his knees. Without saying a word, Cloud punched Reno on his jaw, his face spun to one side, as blood spurted from his mouth.
"That" whispered Cloud, angrily. "Was for all the hell that you caused us"
He hit him again.
"And that" said Cloud. "Was for thinking that you could mess with us and win"
Reno didn't say anything, Tifa noticed that five or six people had approached the altar, in dark suits and rods in their hand. She also noticed that and Elena was the only one who had not moved….
A loud crash erupted through the room. Everyone turned to the source of the noise, Tifa gasped while Cloud grinned. Barret was standing at the entrance, the door literally in pieces. A look of anger crossed his scarred face, his brown eyes scanning the crowd. When he saw Reno, he pointed a large hand at the redhead who was wiping blood from his mouth.
"You got some explaining to do, Redhead!" he roared.
Tifa frowned, "What's he talking about?" she whispered to Cloud.
"I'll tell you later" came the response, as Yuffie smacked her forehead in exasperation.
"Come with me" he said. Cloud did not give her a chance to respond.
He tightened his grip around her waist and leapt into the air. Tifa could see Barret charging at Reno who stood still, absolutely petrified. The couple sailed through the air and onto the window, which only seconds ago was covered by a glass painting. Tifa only had a moment to register that she was staring at the street before she felt herself plummeting. She gasped in surprise, as she struggled to steady herself on the concrete ground. The unrelenting heat of the sun hit her hard and she winced as her eyes adjusted to the bright light. Tifa turned to Cloud, who was staring at her, trying to anticipate her reaction. She couldn't help but smile.
"How did you do that?" she asked, slightly breathless. Cloud shrugged. "Mako enhanced" he said. Tifa smiled, she should have known.
Cid was waiting for them in the Shera, the flying airship hovered gracefully above the street as he threw down a ladder for them to climb. Tifa had to take off her shoes to properly mount the ladder. Once, they were inside, Cloud grabbed her hand and without saying a word, led her down the corridor and into one of the many rooms of the airship. Cloud closed the door and turned to Tifa.
"You're probably mad about what I did"
Actually, I'm not thought Tifa, but thought it best to keep it to herself.
"You had some nerve" she said, crossing her arms above her chest. "I want an explanation"
Cloud smirked at her. "The explanation lies in the little talk we had"
Tifa raised an eyebrow. Cloud closed the gap between them, and cupped her face in his hands.
"You told me that there are times that you felt like you didn't know me" he said. "The one thing you should know is that I never repeat my mistakes. I abandoned you once, and I'll never do it again"
Tifa smiled. "Go on" she said.
"The truth is, it's always been you, Tifa. I may have liked Aerith but what I felt for her was miniscule compared to how I feel about you"
"And?" said Tifa, smiling.
"And you owe me an apology"
"For what?"
"For slapping me"
"You called me a low life gold digger!"
"I didn't call you that, you said that"
"Well, you implied it"
"You were marrying some other guy, I had a right to be angry"
"Well, clearly I didn't marry him because you-"
"Tifa! Enough! This is stupid" said Cloud. "Tell me honestly. Do you love me?"
Tifa paused, she was suddenly aware of how close Cloud was, his lips just inches from her own.
"Yes" she said.
"And do you want to be in a relationship with me?"
She hesitated. "Yes"
Cloud smiled at her, his hand found the back of Tifa's head and he pulled her into a gentle kiss. Tifa leaned into the kiss with a deep hum.
"You know there's something I've wanted do since I saw you in that dress" said Cloud in between kisses.
"And what's that?" whispered Tifa, feeling breathless.
In one swift movement, Cloud moved Tifa against the table and kissed her even harder. One hand moved around her waist, while the other began to crawl up her thigh. Tifa's skin prickled at his touch and he could feel his hardness close to her hip.
"Aren't we going a bit too fast?" she said, slightly out of breath.
"If we went any slower we would be going backwards" said Cloud. "And besides we have some catching up to do"
Tifa's hand found the back of her hand and she gently pulled Cloud away from her.
"Cloud, I'm serious" she said. "We need to take things slow"
For a moment, she expected Cloud to frown in anger, but to her surprise, he nodded.
"I understand" he said. "We've got so many things to talk about"
She smiled. "We need to talk about how we're going to live as a couple, a couple with two children under our care"
"I know" said Cloud, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And I completely understand"
"Really?"
"Of course, although" and he smiled mischievously. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to take advantage of being alone" Without waiting for a response he brought his lips to hers and began to kiss her.
Just when things were getting heated between the two of them a ringing tune echoed through the room. Cloud groaned in disappointment, his lips against Tifa's neck.
"Cloud" whispered Tifa, who was just as disappointed. "Cloud, you better get that"
Reluctantly, Cloud pulled away and took out his PHS.
"Cloud, here" he said, speaking into the phone. He frowned as the person on the other line replied.
To Tifa's great surprise, he held out the phone to her.
"It's for you" he said.
"Me?" said Tifa, her surprise mirrored in her face.
"Apparently" said Cloud, who was just as surprised.
Tifa took the phone and put it to her ear.
"Hello?"
A deep voice spoke on the other end of the line. "That was quite a show you gave us, Miss Lockheart"
Tifa frowned. "Who's this?"
"I have a certain someone with me" said the voice. "A young boy around eight years old and answers to the name Denzel"
Tifa's eyes widened in horror, it was as if she had been drenched in ice, for a moment, her mind stopped working.
"Tseng?"
"Meet me at the Plaza in five minutes"
The phone went dead. Tifa lowered the PHS and looked at Cloud with a fearful expression on her face.
"Tifa? What's wrong?"
Tifa's lower lip trembled as she opened her mouth to speak.
"There's something I have to tell you"
Cloud was seething with anger.
"Remind me to kill Tseng" he said, pacing up and down on the deck of the Shera.
"Cloud now's not the time" said Tifa.
"Hey, Cid" "Yeah?"
"Remind me to kill Tseng after we get Denzel"
"No problem"
Cloud turned to Tifa.
"How could you not tell me about this sooner?" he said.
Tifa sighed; she knew this was coming as soon as she decided to tell him everything.
"I was not thinking clearly, I have no excuses"
"Barret? Yuffie? Why didn't you tell any of them?"
"Well…." Said Tifa. "Like I said before, I wasn't thinking clearly, Cloud…"
"Of course she wasn't thinking clearly" said Cid, from the front. "She was going to marry some red headed dickhead!"
"Stay out of this, Cid" snapped Cloud.
"I'll talk whenever I want to douche bag, and not when you tell me" said Cid.
Cloud shook his head, and turned to look at Tifa. She was looking the other way, a worried look on her face. Cloud moved around her and hugged her around the waist.
"He'll be fine" he said, confidently.
"How do you know that?" whispered Tifa, turning around in his arms.
"Because the Turks know we'll kill them if they hurt Denzel" said Cloud. "And they're not that stupid"
Tifa looked unsure.
"It's my fault he's in danger" she said. "If had just told someone"
"Stop blaming yourself" said Cloud, turning Tifa so that she would face him. "What's done is done. Now let's just focus on getting him back"
Tifa still looked worried, and Cloud knew that she would continue to worry until Denzel was safe.
"We're here" said Cid, peering at the ground below. "Hasn't changed much, has it?"
The Plaza had been the place where Cloud and the others had fought the Behmount summoned by Kadaj. The damage done by the mighty beast had been extensive and the WRO was still trying to repair many surrounding buildings. Cloud couldn't understand why the mysterious caller would want to meet them here of all places.
Without waiting for the ladder to descend, Cloud leapt from the Shera and landed on the ground, and looked around. The place was completely deserted, many people had stayed clear of the Plaza ever since the terrifying events six months ago. Cloud heard a scuffling sound behind him and turned around. Tifa was descending the ladder, Cloud held out his hand to help her. She got to the ground without noticing the proffered assistance and immediately looked around.
"Do you see him?" she asked.
"No" said Cloud.
"Where is he?" said Tifa, anxiously. "Denzel! DENZEL!"
"Tifa!"
Both Cloud and Tifa turned around, their hearts hammering, they would recognise that voice anywhere. Denzel was running towards them, a look of joy on his face. Tifa ran to him and gave him a bone-crushing hug.
"Denzel" sighed Tifa, relief evident on her face.
Cloud smiled at the scene before approaching the two of them. Tifa broke the hug and held Denzel at arm's length with a stern expression on her face.
"Denzel what happened? Who brought you here? Do you know where Marlene is?"
Denzel looked puzzled at Tifa's abrupt change in attitude but answered the questions.
"I think Marlene is with Yuffie" he said. "After you left, Barret was really mad at Reno about something, everyone started to freak out. People were pushing and shouting and yelling…"
Tifa felt a twinge of guilt because she felt indirectly responsible. Cloud on the other hand, merely shrugged as if he couldn't care less.
"I tried to get out" said Denzel. "But I lost Marlene and Yuffie and I didn't know which way to go because everyone was pushing me. That was when this guy came over"
"What guy?" said Cloud and Tifa, at once.
"The tall guy with the sunglasses, the guy who always hangs out with Reno. I didn't know whether I should trust him or not" said Denzel. "But then he said he'd take me to you guys, so we slipped out the back door of the church, grabbed a car and well…"
Denzel spread his arms in obvious delight. "Here we are…"
Cloud stared at the young boy perplexed, didn't Tseng threatened to kill him a couple of days ago? What happened? How did Denzel get out? Who got him out? He glanced at Tifa to see his confusion mirrored in her face as well.
"Tifa?" said Denzel.
"It's okay, Denzel" said Cloud, kneeling in front of the boy."We'll go back home and wait for Marlene and Yuffie to come back"
"Yeah" said Tifa, snapping out of her stupor. "Let's go home"
Despite his words, Cloud wasn't planning on going home just yet.
I'm going to kill, Tseng he thought to himself.
Cloud turned to give Tifa a look that expressed the thoughts in his mind. Tifa gave him a warning look and a gentle shake of the head.
"Hey, there he is!" yelled Denzel, suddenly, pointing behind them.
Cloud's head whipped around, eager to see the person who delivered Denzel to safety. He could see a dark figure approaching them from across the Plaza. Even though Cloud couldn't see his face, he could recognise the stiff walk and the tall, broad frame of the person.
"It's Rude" he said to Tifa.
"He's not a bad guy at all" said Denzel, with a small smile on his face. "Not like Reno anyway"
Cloud smiled to himself, before walking towards the approaching figure. "Cloud?" said Tifa, with a hint of concern in her voice. Cloud turned back to her with a reassuring smile.
"I'm just going to talk" he said. She nodded with a small smile.
After a couple of paces, Rude's stoic face became visible and Cloud stopped at a respectable distance. For a moment, the two men stopped and stared, sizing each other up. After a while, Cloud spoke.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Thwart Tseng's plan should Tifa decide not to go through with the wedding?"
Rude took his time to respond, he hitched his sunglasses further onto his nose.
"It seemed a little mad" he said. "To threaten a child over a wedding, and I promised Reno that as a friend that I would watch his back….I hope he realizes what I meant"
Cloud narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Mad is what you guys do" he said. "I would have thought that you Turks would have been proud of what your boss was doing. Blackmailing AVALANCHE into doing your will, sounds like a dream come true"
"We're no longer the organization that worked for a company that exploited the Lifestream" said Rude, honestly. "Times have changed, and frankly, I wasn't proud of what Tseng….or Reno were doing"
"And what was that?"
"Disrupting your lives"
Cloud was taken aback. "What?"
"Tseng isstill caught up in the idea that we're the blackmailing organization that we once were" said Rude. "And Reno, well…. he's just too stubborn for his own good"
Cloud scrutinised Rude, he could tell that the Turk was being truly honest with his words.
"And what makes you think Tseng and Reno won't stop?" he said. "What makes you think that just because Tifa didn't go through with the wedding Reno wouldn't come around our house? What makes you think that just because you snatched Denzel from right under his nose, Tseng wouldn't stop trying?"
"I'll talk to Reno and Tseng" said Rude. "In the meantime it's best if you leave Edge"
Cloud threw back his head and laughed loudly.
"You expect me to hide from your friends?" said Cloud, there was a soft hiss to his voice.
"Well, you tell them this" He approached Rude until he was almost face-to-face with the Turk. "If they ever come near my family again, If they ever even so much as look at Tifa, Marlene and Denzel. I will hunt them to the ends of the universe and do to them what I did to Sephiroth. Do you understand? "
"I'll be sure to pass on the message" said Rude, trying to sound casual.
"You better" said Cloud, eyes glowing with anger. "Because I am fed up of people trying to tell me and the people I love how to live our lives"
Cloud turned around and began to walk away, but then stopped. "You know, Denzel thinks you're pretty decent guy" he said to Rude.
"He's a good kid" said Rude. "And he is very bright. I hope he's happy with you and Tifa"
"I hope so too" said Cloud, his heart softening despite his initial anger. "I guess I should thank you for doing what you did. If it weren't for you, Denzel would have been in a lot of trouble"
Rude nodded and turned to go, but paused when Cloud called out to him.
"Do you think Tseng would have done it?" Rude turned around.
"Done what?"
"Carry out his threat?"
Cloud had no doubt that Tseng would have done what he had promised to do, but he wanted Rude's opinion on the matter.
"I guess we'll never find out, won't we?" he said.
Cloud nodded. "Right…see you around, Rude"
Rude nodded and turned to go. Cloud watched him for a few moments, before turning around and walking away.
As Cloud approached Denzel and Tifa, the brunette warrior looked up.
"What did he say?" she said. "Nothing much, he was just concerned about Reno and Tseng, some noble garbage" said Cloud.
Tifa was looking at him with a calculating look on her face.
Cloud turned to her. "What?"
"You're planning on going after Reno and Tseng, aren't you"
"Wouldn't you?"
"Cloud…" she sighed, and rubbed her temple. "I know should hate Tseng for what he did, and I know I should be mad at Reno but…"
"But what?" said Cloud, when she trailed off. A small part of him began to suspect that Tifa had feelings for Reno, he quickly pushed the thought aside.
"I'm just so tired, Cloud" said Tifa. "I'm tired of dealing with the Turks, I'm tired of this emotional upheaval I've been going through recently, I don't have the energy to be mad or to hate anyone, right now"
Suddenly, she leapt into Cloud's arms, her arms around his neck.
"I have an idea" she said, brightly. "Let's go to Costa De Sol!"
"What?" asked Cloud, having trouble keeping up with Tifa's change in attitude.
"Let's go on a vacation, let's get away from Edge for a while…Get away from all this. For just one week, maybe more"
Cloud smiled, the thought of being with Tifa alone even for a couple of days sounded wonderful, the thought of seeing Tifa in a bikini was too exciting to contemplate.
"Sure" he said. "But what about Denzel and Marlene?"
Tifa frowned. "We're taking them with us, of course"
"We are" said Cloud, surprised.
He had briefly pictured himself and Tifa alone in Costa De Sol.
Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Did you honestly think that I would let Denzel out of my sights after what Tseng threatened to do?"
"You have a point" said Cloud. "Okay you win, let's go to Costa De Sol. The four of us"
He was sure that he could find some time alone with Tifa. As if reading his mind, Tifa drew closer and leaned towards Cloud's ear.
"Maybe you could show me a few surf moves while Marlene and Denzel are busy with sandcastles"
"But I don't know any…" started Cloud, but stopped at the look from Tifa's face.
Her inviting brown eyes told him that they would be doing a whole a lot more than just surfing, he resisted the impulse to squeeze her buttocks.
"We're going to Costa De Sol?" asked Denzel, who was oblivious to what was going on between the two adults. "When!"
Cloud turned to Denzel and smiled. "We can start packing as soon as we go home"
"Woopee!" yelled Denzel. "I've never been to the beach before…"
"Hey you two!" came a distant voice from above them.
Cloud looked up to see Cid glaring down at him. "If you're done cuddling get on the airship already. I ain't a taxi for hire!"
"We're coming, Cid" yelled Tifa.
She turned to Denzel and smiled. "What do you say we first look Marlene and then start packing?"
Denzel nodded, his blue eyes brimming with excitement. Cloud watched the two of them scuttle up the ladder; he made sure that Tifa's back was turned to him before he took out his PHS, and dialled a number. A voice picked up on the other end.
"Yeah?" "Barret, How's it going?"
"Spectacular"
Cloud grinned at the obvious glee in the voice.
"Where's Tseng?"
"Sent him packing. Why?"
"Keep an eye on him. I have a bone to pick with him once I get back from Coasta De Sol"
"You're going to Costa De Sol?" said Barret. "Yeah Tifa needs a break, oh, and we're taking Marlene too. Is that okay?"
"What?" yelled Barret. "Now wait here-"
"Thanks Barret, bye"
Cloud snapped his PHS closed with a flourish. He knew that Barret wouldn't be mad for long; after all he trusted him and Tifa to look after Marlene when he was away. Why should Costa De Sol be any different? Besides, Tifa needed the break Barret would see that. Tifa…. Thought Cloud.
He was still having difficulty accepting that Tifa was now his girl, his woman. They still had some issues to sort out and not to mention how their relationship would affect Marlene and Denzel. But Cloud was certain that they could sort through them easily. If there was one thing he learnt from this entire ordeal, anything was possible if you had the will. The warrior tried not to think about the time when he was stranded outside Edge, when Fenrir was disabled and what could have happened if Cid and Shera hadn't showed up on time. Cloud knew that he would have to take it slow with Tifa, not rush into things, but Cloud was more than willing to wait, because some things were just worth waiting for. The thought of being in a relationship with Tifa was an exhilarating prospect. Tifa was an amazing woman, beautiful, kind, caring, understanding, to Cloud, she was simply perfect.
Now they could spend the rest of their lives together. Cloud thought about the vision that Aerith and Zack showed him, the one where he and Tifa were married with children of their own. Perhaps that vision would come true, perhaps they would finally find the peace and happiness that they had struggled to find for so long.
"Hey, Cloud, get on already will yeh?"
Cloud smiled to himself. Life can't get any better than it is right now he thought to himself.
Smiling, the warrior climbed onto the ladder and disappeared into the airship.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. There's an epilouge to come, so stay tuned. I also want to apologise about any grammatical or speeling error, it's very difficult for an author to spot them ALL, especially on a big chapter like this one.
