I do not own Final Fantasy VII. There's way more dialogue in this one than I'd intended, but I hope it's not too redundant for anyone. Again sorry for the late update, I've been planning a wedding and it's taking a lot of my free time. Anyways, here we go! XD
Change of Heart
Chapter VII: Introduction of Change
Tifa yawned as she brushed out her long dark hair, feeling a little better now that she'd had some decent sleep. However she did feel a little grumpy from having slept her entire morning away. It was about eightish when Sephiroth had carried her back up to bed, and now it was two thirty in the afternoon and the children would be getting home in an hour or so.
"Hmm…I wonder what Sephiroth's been up to all day." She muttered as she wandered out to the hall. On the hunt for her companion, she checked the living room and upon finding it empty, tapped on his bedroom door. But that minor effort turned up nothing, so she headed downstairs.
Entering the bar, she found not Sephiroth, but Cloud sitting a table with a glass of whiskey. He was staring at it, as if expecting it to sprout arms and legs and start dancing. Tifa stood still as a statue.
"Cloud…you're home." Her heart leapt in her chest and she dashed across the room, feeling like she'd not seen him in years. She wanted to hug him and kiss him, but that's not what happened. Instead, she restrained the urge to toss her arms around him, and put on a calm mask as she sat down beside him.
He continued to stare at the half empty glass, not bothering to acknowledge her. Tifa gulped heavily as she gazed at his face, trying to read his thoughts. But he was indiscernible.
"I didn't forget about the children, Tifa." Cloud finally mumbled, tapping the bottom of the glass with his forefinger. "I just thought it was Monday when they went back. Who the hell makes the first day of school on a Friday?"
Tifa just shrugged and slouched back in the chair. For a moment, she'd almost forgotten about it, as if Denzel's heartbreaking disappointment was just a bad dream.
"Denzel will never forgive me." Cloud leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and dropping his face into his hands. "I-I've been such a terrible dad to him…I don't know what to do. You know Tifa, when we took him in I made a promise to myself that I'd do everything I could to protect him, and make his life happy. But…now I think I'm in over my head."
Tifa didn't know what to day. She leaned forward, also resting her elbows on the table and rested her head on her arm. She watched him continue to stare at the glass.
"I'm not drunk, just so you know." He suddenly blurted out. "I haven't even had a sip."
Tifa still didn't say anything, but she looked up and scanned around the bar. She leaned back as if to get a better view but they were alone.
"Sephiroth went to the grocery store to get some more eggs and bacon…I guess he felt bad that he used them up." Cloud answered her silent questioning. "I think he's also getting another gallon of milk too." He finally took a sip of his drink. "Do you want some?"
"No." Tifa hung her head. "The children will be back soon. I don't want to be intoxicated when they get home, and besides I have to show Sephiroth how to run the bar tonight."
"Run the bar?"
"I've hired him to help me out." Tifa grabbed the bottle of whiskey and returned it to the shelf. "I'm going to have to start charging you for this." She sighed with a smile.
"I'm sorry." Cloud groaned as he took his glass and made for the stairs.
"It was a joke, Cloud. Besides, you bought the bottle." Tifa tried to smooth over her comment, hoping she didn't offend him.
Cloud turned back to her, "Tifa…"
"Hmm?" She raised her eyebrows as she acknowledged him.
He looked thoughtful a moment, as if he were about to say something deep and serious. He wanted to tell her about how he thought Sephiroth felt about her, but he suddenly felt like it was a bad idea.
"N-nothing…it's not my business." He continued upstairs.
Within moments, Sephiroth walked in with a couple of grocery sacks. He wasn't expecting to see Tifa standing at the counter, but he was pleased that she was awake. Tifa smiled at him when he entered, genuinely happy to see him. Coming around the bar, she reached out to take the bags from him.
"Cloud told me you went to the store."
"Yes. I was afraid I'd be recognized. But I don't think anyone really paid attention to me." He laughed a little at that. "How was your nap?"
"It was good. I feel much better." She nodded brightly, but it was clear to Sephiroth that something was bothering her.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"What have I told you about lying?" He went up behind her as she put the groceries away. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he caused her to pause in her work and she turned her head to the side, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
"Cloud is upset." She said finally, dropping her head. "He's tearing himself apart because he missed the children this morning."
"I know, he told me just before I went out."
She turned to face him. "You talked?"
"Yes, we almost had an altercation this morning when he got home, but about an hour ago, he found me again and he told me how upset he was with himself."
Tifa was stunned. "Why in the world would he tell you?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Sephiroth released her shoulders and leaned against the wall. "Once upon a time, Cloud idolized me. Once, he cared about me. There was a time when I was like an older brother to him. Delving deep in to his memories, his psyche, and even in his heart, I suppose he found those old feelings and took a chance at trusting me with his thoughts."
"Perhaps…That's what I did." She found relevance and probability in this. Tifa guessed that perhaps Cloud had attempted to follow her example, but she hadn't expected him to.
Sephiroth shrugged, taking a few steps back and taking a seat on the other side of the counter. "It's very unlike him though."
"So are you looking forward to tonight?" Tifa changed the conversation to a lighter subject.
"Absolutely, I'm excited to start pulling my weight." Sephiroth perked up at the thought of working.
"I'm glad…Not because I think you've been lazy, but because I think it'll be good for you…I think it'll be good for us."
"Us?"
"Yeah." She smiled sincerely. "It'll be fun and it'll make it easier on me. Marlene's always helped out, but I worry about having my children around drunks on a nightly basis."
"That's not healthy, Tifa." Sephiroth shook his head. "It's a good thing I'm here then."
She suppressed a giggle. "I know it's not, but she always begged me to let her help. And most of the time she helped me even without my permission."
The corner of Sephiroth's mouth tugged up in a grin. He observed her carefully as she started wiping down the already clean countertops. She was stuck in a rut, he'd discovered. Tifa was clearly caught in a routine that left her repeating the same actions on a daily basis. Changes such as his sudden residence there and the children going to school didn't alter it so much, so it was clear to him that she needed more change. He'd hoped that helping her at work would make a difference. He wanted to help get her out of this ditch she'd fallen into. He didn't want to radically alter her life, but he wanted to slowly introduce minor changes to her schedule in an attempt to make her life more interesting and perhaps help to break her out of her depression. It was a good approach, he'd thought.
When children ran in that afternoon, Marlene couldn't have been more excited to give an account of her day. But Denzel on the other hand, was still too depressed to be so sociable. Marlene was right the little chatterbox when she ran up to Tifa, but Denzel trudged past without so much as a 'hello'.
"And where are you going, young man?" A deep voice inquired as he tried to escape upstairs. Denzel turned his sorrowful green eyes up to Sephiroth who sat the table nearest the hall, enjoying an afternoon snack.
"To my room." Denzel sighed as he started to turn away, but Sephiroth caught his shoulder.
"Come sit with me." He guided him to the chair beside him. "Tell me about your day."
"It was ok."
"Just ok? Marlene seems pretty excited." Sephiroth observed as he motioned to the young girl across the bar talking Tifa's ears off as she was busy getting the place prepped for business.
"Marlene's never been to school before…I never liked it at all." Denzel pouted, resting his elbows on the table.
"So what happened today, did you meet any new friends?"
"No new friends…just the same kids I've already met." He really was trying to avoid being cheerful.
"Then it mustn't have been too bad, since there were familiar faces." Sephiroth urged gently, trying to break his dreary mood. "What is your teacher like?"
"She's ok."
Sephiroth was growing upset from Denzel's lack of conversation. He desperately wanted him to open up to him, to let him know what he wanted. But Sephiroth was sure he already knew; Denzel wanted a fulltime dad, someone who he could connect with and to be his best friend, someone who he can confide in. Sephiroth wanted that roll, the reason though wasn't very clear, but he desired the privilege nonetheless. But Denzel wasn't having it.
The boy was just shutting him out. Even after their little encounter in the church, and their seeming growing connection over the last week, Denzel was suddenly starting to shut down. It was suddenly clear that it wasn't just Tifa's life Sephiroth needed to impact. He needed to do something amazing for Denzel as well.
"There's somebody here for you." Sephiroth said, hoping to illicit the boy's curiosity and excitement.
Denzel perked up and Sephiroth could clearly see the moment when his heart skipped a beat. The boy tensed and is legs jerked. "You mean…"
"He's in the garage." Sephiroth smiled as Denzel jumped up from the chair and ran for the garage door.
Denzel burst in to find Cloud tinkering with his bike. "Cloud!"
Cloud shot up from the floor, his face lit up when he saw him and opened his arms to him. He scooped him up and hugged him tight to his chest. Denzel buried his face in Cloud's neck and clutched tightly to him, as if he were afraid he'd disappear if he let him go.
"Denzel, I'm so sorry."
Denzel didn't respond, he just hung on to him. Cloud could feel him trembling and the wet spot growing on the collar of his shirt. With a heavy sigh, he took a couple steps back and sat down on the saddle of the motorcycle. He cuddled the boy and rocked him back and forth in an attempt to calm him down. He knew he'd hurt his feelings.
"You didn't even call me."
"I know…but pay phones are hard to come by, you know?"
"In that case we need to work on getting you a new cell." Tifa said from the doorway.
Cloud's eyes flicked over to her. "Yeah, I know." Cloud remembered having lost his phone in the Forgotten City almost two weeks earlier.
"How much did you get for this delivery?" She questioned almost accusingly.
"How much did I get in full or how much profit?"
Tifa crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, "Profit."
"Well, let's see…" He quickly figured his cost in fuel and wear on his bike, "…about a couple thousand gil."
"Oh, good!" She bounced on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands together once. "Then you've got plenty to go buy a new one!" Her voice was loaded with sarcasm.
Cloud was certain from the get go that he'd pissed her off, but she took long enough to start showing it. Tifa was the slow quiet type; she doesn't act mad at first, but after a while she'll start her almost methodical acts of revenge.
Tifa strutted up to them and ruffled Denzel's hair, causing him to lift his head. He looked up at her with watery green eyes. Tifa offered a comforting smile, her own eyes soft and motherly.
"If you could have anything you wanted for dinner…Anything at all, what would you have?"
Denzel thought for a second, "Anything at all?"
"Absolutely anything." She assured him.
"I want…a big huge juicy steak with a side of broccoli and mashed potatoes." A meal like that was pretty expensive, especially in these hard times.
Tifa smiled triumphantly, proud of her child for conjuring up such a wonderful food fantasy. She turned in back to Cloud, who looked like a deer in headlights. "You heard him. Now be a good father and feed your hungry son." She waltzed out before Cloud could protest.
Tifa laughed maniacally on the inside. Living for revenge amounted to nothing, but taking it immediately on a whim was just too much fun, especially because no one got hurt.
"Sephiroth, Marlene, get cleaned up. Cloud is taking us out to dinner."
Sephiroth looked a little disappointed. "What about the bar?"
Tifa halted as she started for the stairs. "We won't be gone all night, it's only three forty-five, we'll be home before our customers start coming in."
