CHAPTER 7: The Question
SUMMARY: As Christmas draws closer, Cloud Strife struggles with a very difficult and delicate decision, a decision that could change not only his life but the life of someone very close to him as well. With the help of loyal and supportive friends and allies, will Cloud make the correct choice? Read to find out. Rated for safety, implied sexual content (I can't write that sort of stuff worth CRAP, nor could I do so to save my life!) and for the mouths of Barret, Cid, Reno, and my O.C.'s – Kitara Miyuki Yuri Strife and Akihito Reynolds (rarely Akihito) – and H e a r tless f a i r ytale's O.C. – Kanako Alana Alethea Superior Strife. (HOPE I SPELLED HER NAME RIGHT, H e a r tless!!) Main pairing is CloudxTifa with side-pairings of KitaraxAkihito, VincentxKanako (Yuffie didn't get the balls to tell Vinny she loves him yet, Jei, so put up with it! ;P), CidxShera (they'll be at a party in one of these chapters), TsengxElena (will also be at a party in one of these chapters), Reeve TuestixShalua Rui, ZackxAerith (they're gonna show up from the Lifestream at some point).
Thanks to HeloEyes for alerting this story! You kick ass!!
Thanks to Musicalyak for adding me to their favorite authors list!!
Thanks to PeAceLovEr 12 for reviewing the last chapter!!
Kit: Okay, so I DIDN'T get this chapter out by Christmas this time. THE FUCKING THING DIDN'T WANT TO BE WRITTEN!!! DDX Though, getting a Wii and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for it didn't help either. major sweatdrop I can't help it if the graphics are amazing and Link just looks even hotter than ever!! Though, he COULD stand to grab onto the edge of a cliff that's NOT in a dungeon when about to walk off of it once in a while. pouts and grumbles Oh well. Can't change that, so I'll just change my stories instead! XD Not that I'm really changing anything in this one; talking about other stories I'm still writing. sweatdrop Okay, enough stalling. ON WITH THE DISCLAIMER!!!
Marlene: Is it my turn, Kit?
Kit: Yes it is, Marlene. Go ahead. (^-^)
Marlene: The only things that KitaraStrife owns in this fanfic are the characters of Kitara Miyuki Yuri Strife and Akihito Reynolds along with the band name "Blood Skulls"; Kanako Alana Alethea Superior Strife belongs to H e a r tless f a i r ytale and everything else belongs to either Square Enix or the respective singers and their record companies.
Kit: Thank you, Marlene. hands her a cookie Well, then happy belated Christmas and New Year's everybody. ON WITH THE SHOW!!!
"words" means Person talking on the other end of any phone of any sort; Flashback-like sequences; Recaps in later chapters
"words" means Regular talking
'words' means Thinking
RECAP: As the song ended, everyone clapped happily. Kit was only slightly relieved to see that Cloud was clapping, even if it was not as happily as everyone else. Hell, there were a lot of drunk men in the bar hooting and hollering at Tifa because of her outfit.
Now all they needed to do was pray that Cloud got the damn message and did not kill Reno.
FEAR THE SCENE CHANGE FONT OR ZACK WILL SCREAM ZACK ATTACK!! AND GLOMP YOU!!!!!!!!!
After the crowd's cheering died down, Reno quickly excused himself to change back into his more comfortable attire while Tifa went back behind the bar, not wanting to bother with changing out of the dress. This left the girls and Akihito on the stage to play some more songs, eventually taking requests when they announced they were tired of playing all the joyful holiday songs. Someone requested "Ready to Fly" while another requested "The Ghost Woman and the Hunter" by Spiraling Laguna while still others requested more holiday-appropriate songs.
Meanwhile, Cloud was still in his booth in the corner, his bottle of bourbon whiskey sitting and looking all but forgotten on the table as the blond warrior looked at a little black box he was turning over and over in his hands. He was mulling over something, yet giving off the vibe of someone who absolutely did not want to be disturbed unless for a very good reason.
Reno came back down in his normal attire–the Turk uniform–only instead of the usual white button-up shirt, he wore a red one that nearly matched his hair color. He scanned the crowd, taking note of his colleagues and boss talking and have a good time with all those around; hell, even Rude was getting into the spirit and chatting it up with a fellow ShinRa employee who worked in the offices, was not a Turk, and was of the opposite sex.(1) If Reno did not know better, he would have said that his partner was flirting with the woman, who, by the way, seemed to be flirting right back. Did the redhead go over and try to play wingman? No, he kept scanning the room and saw the famous chocobo-headed hero sitting by himself and giving off a vibe that he could pick up all the way from the opposite side of the room. Unfortunately, to Reno the vibe said "I'm going to kill or at least maim Reno for dancing with Tifa" and caused his face to pale a bit.
From her position on the stage, Kit managed to pick up on the slight color drain from the Turk's face and it made her worries about inadvertantly falsely promising Reno that her brother would not kill him grow.
'I can't help but think that I just might have besmirched whatever relationship exists between Cloud and Reno with this idea of mine,' she thought as she glanced nervously between her brother and the redheaded Turk.
An hour later, The Blood Skulls announced they were ending and that a DJ–Rude–would be playing the rest of the requests for the night so that they could mingle and chat with their friends; Kanako threatened to dismantle anyone who touched their instruments and equipment while still in good mentality to know not to before smiling and saying a cheerful "Happy Holidays!" and hopping off the stage and making a beeline for Vincent. Kit headed straight for Reno to make sure he was okay, Akihito following right behind her.
Finding the redhead sitting in a stool at the bar, Kit took a seat in the stool on Reno's left and looked at him while Akihito sat on her other side and ordered them a couple of waters and a sake for himself; Tifa just shook her head at his final order but got it anyway.
"So... what's wrong, Reno?" inquired Kitara after taking a quick sip of her water.
"The vibe your bro's giving off from all the way over there," he replied, taking another gulp of his beer. Kit quickly looked to where Cloud was sitting and saw him concentrating on a little black box and smirked before looking back at Reno, her worries from earlier disappearing.
"I already promised you that he wasn't gonna hurt ya in any way, didn't I?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he ain't gonna try, yo."
"Reno, stop being such a baby and suck it up. You've lived through him pummeling ya nearly to death before," Kit said, reminding the redhead about the Sector 7 pillar bombing incident she had heard so much about. That memory only made Reno wince.
"Yeah, but that was just about a pillar. Think about what he'll do because of dancing with his woman, yo."
"UUUGH! You're absolutely hopeless!" groaned the girl. "If this is how you're gonna be for the rest of the night, then we'll just leave you to your worries and beer." With that, she stood up and walked off into the crowd in search of her favorite female Turk, Hikari Tano, with Akihito following after her.(2)
FEAR THE SCENE CHANGE FONT OR ZACK WILL SCREAM ZACK ATTACK!! AND GLOMP YOU!!!!!!!!!
It was not until another two hours later that Cloud finally got up from his booth and headed for the bar, one hand in his pocket. Reno saw this and quickly got up and left the bar in favor of going and hanging out with his bald partner. Cloud was five steps away from the bar before Kit noticed that he had moved from her position near the Seventh Heaven street entrance where she and Akihito were talking and laughing about Turk stuff with the brunette Turk, Hikari; she narrowed her eyes and waited for Hikari to stop talking before saying, "Hey, Kari? We'll talk to ya more later, kay? Gotta go do somethin' real quick," and hurriedly making her way through the crowd towards Rude to tell him to get the spotlight ready before rushing in the direction of the bar.
At the bar, Cloud was waiting for Tifa to get done serving other customers, his one hand still inside his pocket. Smiling and telling Johnny to have a happy holiday, Tifa turned to Cloud.(3)
"Need a refill, Cloud?" she asked, still smiling.
"Uh..." Cloud almost said that he did, but quickly smacked himself mentally. "No. I... I wanted to ask you something."
Schooling her features to looked curiously concerned instead of happy and excited, Tifa turned and asked Yuffie and the kids to watch the bar for a few minutes before walking back out from behind the bar counter and over toward the staircase with Cloud, resisting the urge to look behind her for Kit to give her a look of Finally! as she did so.
"What—" she began, only to pause when the music abruptly stopped and a spotlight was shone upon them; Cloud looked like a deer caught in the headlights and like he wanted to bolt but he knew that he left now, he would never get the courage to ask Tifa again. Both of the two caught in the spotlight looked out at the crowd, shading their eyes from the brightness, only to see Kit smirking at Cloud as she stood next to Rude. Cloud made a mental note to get back at his oldest little sister later; first he had to ask Tifa before he lost his nerve. As the two turned back to each other, Tifa finished her question: "What is you want to ask me, Cloud?" The question was heard all throughout the bar, seeing as everyone had gone dead silent once the spotlight had been turned back on.
Taking a deep breath to calm is nerves and rapidly beating heart, Cloud sank down to one knee and pulled the little black box he had been playing with earlier out of his pocket, feeling like an eternity had passed by the time he finished the motions. Almost the entire bar took a collective, happy gasp; some stared at him like he was an idiot, others with jealousy, and still others who were too waisted to realize what the hell was going on as they stared blankly. Tifa was staring at Cloud with a look of wide-eyed surprise, not expecting him to ask her that question! When Kit had told her a month ago that–after boredly perusing her older brother's thoughts–Cloud was planning on asking her something, she never thought of this.
"Tifa.... will you marry me?" Cloud asked, feeling like his throat was closing up immediately after he asked the question, even as he opened the box to reveal the ring inside.
Tifa gasped, putting her hands over her mouth as her eyes went even wider as she stared at the object in Cloud's hand. The gleaming adamantine ring lay on a substratum of the finest satin the bartendress had ever seen; she reasoned that all of it together must have cost Cloud a fortune not even Rufus Shinra was willing to pay! She continued to stare at the ring with its inset small diamonds and allover beauty for five minutes.
Despite what he thought he was showing outside, Cloud's anxiety was being revealed quite well on his face. To everyone's surprise, Cloud's face had somewhat taken on a sallow look as he awaited Tifa's answer.
Close by the spotlighted couple, Cid, Barret, Reeve, Denzel, Yuffie, and Marlene all quietly cleared their throats, resulting in enough noise to snap the wine-eyed brunette out of her little trance. Moving her eyes from the ring to hold the bright Mako-enhanced blue ones of Cloud, Tifa's eyes slowly filled with tears; this gave the spiky-haired blond the idea that she refused... until she spoke.
"Yes, Cloud. Of course I'll marry you!" she said, the tears in her eyes spilling over as she smiled and held out her left hand for Cloud to place the ring on as he smiled back and stood up. Sharing a quick kiss, the two turned their smiling faces to look at the audience they had as everyone around them clapped.
"About time, you pain-in-the-ass!" yelled a certain ninja princess teasingly from behind the bar counter.
"Took you long enough, nii-san!!" shouter Kanako from her position in Vincent's lap on the far side of the bar.
"More like it took him a month, Kana," smirked Kitara. That was when Cloud realized that she had read his mind and could possibly have told Tifa, but he highly doubted it if the look of pure shock and suprise on his now fiancee's face was any indication.
Nearly an hour and several congratulations hugs and pats on the back later, Cloud and Tifa were sitting in their own booth, Tifa having given full authority behind the bar to Marlene despite much arguing from Yuffie. Both were smiling and talking quietly with each other as Tifa's head lay against Cloud's shoulder, both already trying to decide on things concerning their wedding. Until Kitara showed up, pushing a protesting Reno in front of her, that is.
"Kit-Kat! I already told ya I wanted to leave 'em alone, yo!" Reno whined, knowing he sounded pathetic and did not care so long as it got the girl to leave him alone.
"Oh, no you don't! You are going to see that I'm right if I have to superglue your flame-haired ass to the booth seat, Flames!" growled the eighteen-year-old before looking directly at her older brother and now soon-to-be sister-in-law. (Frankly, she thought it was about mother-fucking, goddamn time Cloud popped the question to his childhood best friend.) "Cloud, would you kindly tell Reno that you are not going to pummel him just because he danced with Tifa earlier tonight?"
Cloud blinked at his little sister, looking between her and the wanting-to-run-the-hell-away-and-hide-in-a-ditch-somewhere-for-the-rest-of-the-year redheaded Turk before smirking and staring directly at him.
"I'm not going to pummel him," he said, the smirk never leaving his face and only serving to heighten Reno's want more. "I'm going to put him the hospital for a half a year," he added in a fully serious voice. He knew that he had the intended effect on Reno when he saw the tension in the redhead's body and the look of Oh... FUCK! on his face. Chuckling, Cloud told him he was kidding, making the Turk and the two females look at him like he was sick. "What? I can joke, too, you know."
"Yeah, but... you never joke like that, Cloud!" exclaimed an astonished Kitara, jaw hanging slightly slack. "You usually just make a dry crack or accidental joke like Vincent did just about somewhere between five and seven times during the Deepground shit last year!" Behind her, Vincent just gave Kit a look before Kanako drew his attention back to her.
"Okay, can we please get back to the fact that blondie just joked about putting me in the hospital?!" asked a still-tense Reno; the man looked like he was about ready to collapse from nerves and not wake up for a week.
"Relax, Reno. I'm not going to kill you for dancing with Tifa, let alone hurt you in any way," Cloud sighed with a shake of his head.
"There. See, Reno? You can stop acting like such chickenshit now," Kit smirked, whapping Reno upside the head as she did so. She was thankful that she had not envenomed Cloud by having Tifa and Reno dance together to get the chocobo-headed blond to finally propose to the bartendress.
From a small corner in the room, two transparent figures stood and smiled upon Cloud.
"About time, Chocobo," the male said, turning to his female companion and nodding up. "We should probably get back before anyone goes berserk."
"You're right. But I'm happy he finally asked her," she responded.
Before either of them could leave, however, Kit had turned and spotted them. The girl teleported over, smiling at the two.
"About time you two showed up. How long have you been standing there?"
"Since Cloud asked Tifa to marry him," replied the woman with a gentle smile.
"That's what I thought. Well, merry christmas and happy holidays, Zack. Aerith." With a smile and a "hug," Kit left them to leave for the Lifestream again.
FEAR THE SCENE CHANGE FONT OR ZACK WILL SCREAM ZACK ATTACK!! AND GLOMP YOU!!!!!!!!!
Later that night, after all the guests left for their respective places of residence or stay for the holidays and everything had been cleaned up and put away inside the bar (Blood Skulls' equipment included), Tifa and Cloud headed up to the room they always shared hand-in-hand. They took a peak into the Denzel and Marlene's room to be sure the two children were asleep as Barret had told them two hours beforehand before entering their own. Sitting down on Tifa's bed, they looked around the room.
"Well, for one thing, I guess we can get rid of these," Cloud said, indicating their two separate beds. "I mean... why sleep in two separate beds when we're married?"
Tifa giggled. "I know what you mean, Cloud. Anyone that does has to have their own reasons for doing so."
"Yeah..."
Silence lapsed between them for a few minutes before Tifa spoke up again.
"You know... Denzel and Marlene are asleep, Kit and Akihito 'mysteriously' rented a room at the inn for the night, and Kanako went with Vincent back to his own room at the inn." She looked suggestively at the blond next to her. "We could have a little holiday fun of our own, you know...."
"And if we wake the kids? What do you suggest we tell them if they come and ask why we're being so loud?"
"That all depends on whether or not you want me screaming, Cloud." With that, Tifa quickly leaned forward and pressed her lips to Cloud's, silencing any response he might have had to that statement. The two quickly found themselves making out on the bed like a pair of teenagers, their hands exploring each others bodies liesurely but with a purpose.
FEAR THE SCENE CHANGE FONT OR ZACK WILL SCREAM ZACK ATTACK!! AND GLOMP YOU!!!!!!!!!
Ten minutes later, when Denzel got up to use the bathroom, he was glad Kit had secretly soundproofed his and Marlene's room the week before school break.
1. Okay, I know that sounded lame. Bite me. I really don't care. I just wanted to get the point that Rude was flirting with a random female and that it was NOT a Turk. I've been reading Xenobia's fanfics recently and let's just say that she's got it stuck in my head that Rufus has to approve of his Turks dating outside of their little circle, soo... yeah. (^-^;)
2. "Hikari" you better be happy I put you in here, girl!! Couldn't mention your revised character's love of Sephiroth, but... meh, I'll find a way to mention that in some other fanfic. XDD
3. Yeah, this would be the same Johnny mentioned in the disclaimer back in chapter 1. Though, I sorta forgot where the hell I was originally going with that part of the disclaimer, soo.... yeah... (^_^;) Total fail right there. Just enjoy the chapter.
4. This is explained in yet ANOTHER fanfic I started quite awhile ago (back on my account, but I think I took the story off...), but... Kit was infused with Mako and some Jenova cells by Hojo when she visited Cloud at ShinRa HQ. Kanako was, too, but not at the same time. Want more info on Kanako, either wait for me and H e a r tless to finish revising my FF7 mainstream fanfic or go ask her about Kanako yoursel.f
Kit: First off, the song "Ready to Fly" is sung by Richard Marx and is absolutely amazing and beautiful! I love it!! Also, "Spiraling Laguna" is just the fanfic name I came up with for Lacuna Coil; I figured that a coil was just a thing that spiraled around something and "Lacuna" sounded like "laguna"--which is Latin or something for lagoon--so I went with those words. shrugs Sorry that doesn't make sense to some, but it does to me, so deal with it. Anyways, OHMIGOD! IT'S FINISHED!! I FINALLY FINISHED THIS THING AFTER TWO FUCKING YEARS!!! DDDX Though, honestly, that ending was sorta difficult for me to write because... well... I've never actually written anything like that before!! I will admit to having started TWO DIFFERENT ATTEMPTS at lemons or refrences to lemons (one's gonna be a lemon the other's the latter of the two I just mentioned) and haven't gotten as far as I would like with either of them. Hell, THE ONE WAS MEANT TO HAVE ALREADY BEEN OUT BACK IN JUNE OF 2009! DDX Talk about fail right there. Once I get that damn thing finished, check it out. ...If you don't mind reading yaoi that is. (^_^;) Now then... Hope you all enjoyed this shitty little story of mine.
Kanako: Aren't you forgetting something?
Kit: GAH! Where the fuck did you come from!?
Kanako: H e a r tless is in school right now and I'm bored of paying attention with her, so I came to visit you instead.
Kit: sighs Whatever. Anyways... realizes what Kanako just said Wait... What did you just say? What do you mean I'm forgetting something?
Kanako: How long is this story all together?
Kit: Seven chapters. Why do you—? OH! RIGHT! THANKS, KANAKO!! OH MY GOSH, GUYS!! THIS IS THE FIRST MULTI-CHAPTER FIC I'VE WRITTEN THAT I'VE COMPLETED!!! I mean, I meant for my Teen Titans fanfic to have more chapters by now, but that didn't seem to work out. (Besides, I need to edit that thing anyway.) I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY RIGHT NOW!! dancing around like an idiot Alright, enough of that. PLEASE REVIEW EVERYONE!!! Hope you read or have read my other works, however shitty I may think they are!
