Yay! I finally managed to update this! Curse you, writer's block! I was actually planning on updating In Our Own World first, as I have sorely neglected it for so long, but this chapter showed itself first.

I'll update my profile soon for those who alerted or favorited. For now, to those who reviewed:

A Morning Star: I might take you up on that offer about motorbike info, I have absolutely no knowledge about them. If you find anything wrong in what I've written, feel free to correct me. And, oh, if you're interested in some of my "deeper" CloTi works, you can check out In Our Own World (shameless plug); that is, if you're not opposed to lemons... makeup. lover: (sorry, ffnet won't let me show your name right) I'm glad you enjoyed the last two chapters. I hope you enjoy this one too! I have a feeling you'll like what I have in mind... Sigart: LOL, I'm glad you thought the Cloud-sniffing was cute, I thought it might be a little creepy (but, yes, adorable)... Tifa4Buhay: Patawad, kaibigan. Matagal talaga akong mag-update dahil sabaw ako palagi, XP. Gusto ko pa rin ng CloTi vs. Claerith, pero para maiba naman, eto ginawa ko... neurogal09: Thanks! And don't worry, Aerith will appear again, sooner or later. I have something in mind for our favorite flower girl... Scribbleness: You wonderful, wonderful person! I always love your reviews! I humbly beg for your forgiveness because I haven't updated this in a while. I'm glad you always seem to feel this story, and also very glad to know it's a comfort to you (now I feel worse for not updating sooner)... ladywisdom: Thank you for reading it! I'm glad you appreciate how human my Zack is. I know he seems like a jerk sometimes in my story, but he is trying... Synfully: LOL! No need to apologize, I'm just glad someone's still reading this! And voodoo dolls? *scandalized gasp* How very stalker-ish! Uh, can I have one too?... Mrs. Maxi Strife: (darn it! ffnet won't let me show your name right!) Patience, my dear. All will become clear in good time... rokusan23: Proud to be, kapatid! Musta buhay? Ang aga ng pasok namin ngayon eh, wala pang pasok yung ibang school, kami may exam na!... vLuna: Oh come on, you always knew that Cloud's good with his hands. After all, haven't you been proofing my lemons? ;p Okay, that was disturbing, dunno what came over me, sorry... Vanilla Raindrops: I love the way you think, sweets. Oh, I'll introduce you to Fenrir in just a little while... AnimeAngel90: Poor Reeve, poor Zack, poor everybody except Cloud and Tifa. No, wait, since I'm bad, especially Cloud and Tifa! Hehe, they've got to earn their happy ending, right?... cassiopeia09: Uy, fellow Pinoy/Pinay! Welcome! I did base this on the "barkada" feel; well, somewhat. I'm glad my game gave you an idea! Tell me if it actually works!... 7th-HartStrife-duh: Squee! Thanks! And about the length of this thing, well, I ran it over in my mind and did the math. Seems I might have to go over ten chapters here, after all. At least, if I stick to my vague plot line... 6jrz422: If all goes well, we will see tree-hugging Aerith again soon! As for the Tifa piece, it will come... ReNeVIerE07: Thanks! Here you go then!...

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the next chapter! Oh, and the debut of Fenrir, as well.


CHAPTER 7: OF FRIENDS AND FENRIR

"We need to talk, young lady."

Tifa winced. Her father was using that tone. The one that always told her to run for cover because she was in deep trouble. As she cleared the remains of breakfast from the table, she tried to remember any misdeeds she might have committed the past few days to incur her father's wrath.

"What is it, Dad?"

Robert Lockhart's arms were crossed over his chest and the wrinkle between his eyebrows was so deep, Tifa was worried it might freeze there and become a permanent feature of his face. He was also holding a suspiciously familiar piece of paper in his hand.

Uh-oh.

"Would you care to explain why you have a grade like this in your Physics exam?"

Figured. Of all the things her father could have found in her trash, he'd found the quiz Hojo had given them, the one Tifa had failed spectacularly. She hadn't even wanted to look at it, so she had just crumpled that condemned piece of paper and chucked it straight into the bin.

Wrong move.

She should have destroyed the evidence first.

Think fast. Quickly, she arranged her face into a frown that mirrored his. The insulted teenager front had always worked for her. "That's mine and it was private. You're going through my stuff now? I can't have any privacy anymore?"

"I know it's yours. I can see your name written on it. Right beside the zero mark." Her father brandished the piece of paper at her as if it were some sort of flag. The red mark seemed huge from her spot. Her father glowered at her. "What in the Planet's name happened? You didn't tell me you were having problems in Physics. You said everything was fine with your studies. Well, let me tell you, young lady, a zero mark on an exam is not fine."

Tifa hung her head, properly abashed. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't really blame her father for reacting like this. She wasn't an honor student or anything and she wasn't good at all of her subjects, but she usually passed all of them, some with flying colors. A zero mark was practically unheard of for her.

"I'm handling it."

"I certainly hope you are, because until I see some improvements in your grades, you're grounded."

Tifa's eyes widened and her mouth dropped in an indignant expression. "I already told you! I'm handling it. A friend of mine is going to tutor me. I'm going over to his house this afternoon for our first study session. How am I going to do that if I'm grounded?"

Her father shook his head, unrelenting. "You're grounded and that's final. Have your friend come over for your study session, if you want. But until you get your grades back up, you're not allowed to go anywhere but home after school."

Tifa opened her mouth to protest, but the expression on her father's face told her there was no use. Once her father's mind was made up, it was pointless trying to reason with him. Though she knew it was partly her fault too for letting her Physics grade slide, the rebellious teen in her was still fuming. She dumped the plates they'd used in the sink and stalked out of the room without another word to her father.

She was just arranging the straps of her backpack when Denzel appeared in front of her, his expression apologetic. "Tifa, don't be mad at me, please?"

"Why would I be mad at you, Denz?"

Denzel's grey-blue eyes were wide and guilty under the rust-colored fringe of his hair. "I was the one who found your paper. It was my turn to get the trash and your paper rolled out. I took a look at it and Dad saw me. When he saw what the paper was, he got really angry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you and Dad to fight... Are you mad at me?"

Tifa couldn't help but smile at the adorably contrite look on her little brother's face. "I'm not mad at you, kiddo. It's not your fault."

"Then why do you look mad?"

Tifa suppressed a laugh. Denzel was such a solemn little kid. He had perfected the art of worrying. He'd grow wrinkles before he turned thirteen. If Tifa didn't set him straight now, he'd be fretting and feeling guilty over this for the entire day. "I am a bit mad, but I'm not mad at you, Denz. I just need to cool down a little, okay?"

Denzel nodded. "Okay. If you're still not feeling good after school, maybe you can take a walk in the park. That always makes me feel better. If I get home early from our field trip, I'll go with you."

Tifa smiled, touched by her little brother's concern. "Thanks, kiddo, but I'm gonna have to pass on that. You heard what Dad said. I'm grounded. Besides, I'm having a friend over this afternoon for a tutoring session. Might as well get started on getting my grades back up."

She sighed heavily. It looked like things were going to be tense at the Lockhart household for a while. Forcing a smile for her little brother's sake, she helped him with his bag and shepherded him into the car.

The ride to school was spent in resentful silence. Robert was still fuming at his daughter's slipping grades and the fact that she had hidden them from him when she usually told him about these things. He couldn't help but worry a bit that something was wrong.

Tifa, on the other hand, was still seething. She knew she deserved her punishment, but she couldn't help but feel that being grounded was a little extreme. She was already handling it. Hadn't she already agreed to have tutoring sessions with Cloud two days ago? Now she was going to have to ask him to come over, which was going to be an inconvenience for him.

By the time her father stopped in front of the school, the tension between father and daughter was thick enough to drown in. It was a relief to get out of the car and into the school grounds.

Once there, she realized that something was, once again, different.

The atmosphere wasn't as hostile as it had been before. Had it only been two days ago? It seemed as if it had been lifetimes ago that she had gone through the corridors amid whispers and scathing looks. Now everyone seemed a bit more relaxed, even friendly.

Even toward her. Especially toward her.

"Hey, Tifa! How are you doing?"

"Hi, Teef! I love your blouse! It looks so chic!"

"Good morning, Tifa! You look nice today!"

"Hey, Teef! I'll save you a seat in History of Gaia later, okay?"

Tifa blinked in surprise. Only the polite-girl reflex had her waving her hand and smiling. To say she was shocked would have been the understatement of the century.

Hadn't these people just gone around spreading malicious rumors about her and calling her a slut two days ago? Wasn't she the evil, cheating girlfriend? The enemy of every girl out there who'd ever had a crush on Zack and every guy who'd ever wanted to be him?

Seriously, she would never be able to comprehend the minds of these people. Two days ago, she was the most hated person in the school. Today, everyone was going out of their way to be nice to her.

Weird.

She stopped at her locker, trying to make sense out of it all, when she was suddenly approached by Jessie, of all people. "Hey, Teef! Wanna hang out at the mall later after school?"

Okay, this was getting beyond weird. Just two days ago, her so-called best friend had avoided her simply because of a rumor she probably didn't even believe, and now she was going all "Hey, Teef!" as if nothing had happened?

"Uh, what?" was Tifa's smart response.

"You know, hang out?" Jessie said with a nervous-sounding laugh. "We could go shopping or hang out in the arcade. I'll pass a note to Elena and the three of us can-"

"Why?"

Now it was Jessie's turn to be confused. "What do you mean 'why'? We usually hang out together after school, don't we?"

Tifa gave her a level stare. "We didn't two days ago."

"Well, that's... I mean..." Jessie scrambled for words, but Tifa held up a hand to cut across her.

"I'm sorry, I can't hang out with you or Elena today," she interjected coolly. "I've been grounded. Besides, I have to meet Cloud. He's tutoring me in Physics and I'm tutoring him in English Lit."

Jessie scoffed at the mention of Cloud's name. "Come on, Teef. You don't have to pretend you like those losers anymore. Elena and I are your best friends and we're here for you-"

Tifa's eyes narrowed. "I don't recall you being there for me two days ago when I was the most hated person in school and I could have used some support from my so-called best friends... And don't call Cloud and his friends losers. They were there for me when you were too busy pretending I didn't exist. As far as I'm concerned, you're even more of losers than they are."

Jessie gaped at her as she retrieved her books from her locker and slammed it shut. Tifa turned to her ex-friend one last time. "Just answer me this: why the sudden change of heart, huh? Why did everyone decide to stop hating me all of a sudden?"

The redhead blushed and suddenly seemed extremely interested in her glittery pink wedges. "I, well... Zack told us what really happened."

That stopped Tifa. "Zack... what?"

"He told us what happened. Well, actually, he kind of shouted it in the parking lot last Monday," Jessie said sheepishly. "He said that he was the one who cheated on you, not the other way around. And then he got all mad and walked off."

"I see."

Tifa didn't know what to make of that. In the parking lot, she had seen him with another girl and thought that he'd gotten over her. The thought still stung like an open wound that was too raw to be prodded, but it made her feel a little better that Zack still cared enough about her to set the record straight and clear her reputation.

"Yeah, so..." Jessie bit her lip, then grabbed one of Tifa's hands and looked pleadingly up at her. "Look, Teef. I'm really sorry about what I did. I didn't mean to do it. I just... Everyone was saying all these things about you, I knew they couldn't be true, but then Elena stopped talking to you, and I thought-"

"You thought you'd be better off with them than with the school's biggest loser, is that it?" Tifa asked, watching Jessie struggle to deny it. But she couldn't, because Tifa knew what she'd said was the truth.

In a way, Tifa felt sorry for her. Jessie had gone against what she knew to be true and sided with everyone else because it was more convenient that way. The compromise kept things comfortable for her, but Jessie was still lying to herself, and worse, she knew it.

Tear-filled olive green eyes looked up at Tifa, and Jessie gave an almighty sniff. "I'm really, really sorry, Teef. I don't want you to hate me..."

Tifa sighed. "I don't hate you, Jessie. I just think it was cowardly of you not to side with me when you knew I didn't do anything wrong."

Jessie's eyes widened and the tears in her eyes spilled over to her freckled cheeks. Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish as she tried to come up with something to say. But Tifa didn't think there was anything Jessie could say that would persuade Tifa to go back to being best friends with her and Elena. Still, she didn't want to end it on bad terms with Jessie either.

"I'll see you around, Jess." Tifa gave the other girl a small smile and a wave before turning away from her and heading off to class.

Just before she got to her homeroom, she spotted Cloud. There was still a bit of time, so Tifa made her way through the throng of students and walked up to him. When she tapped him on the shoulder, he turned to her with a small, surprised smile.

"Hey."

"Hi," Tifa smiled back at him, her mood immediately lifting. It was hard not to feel better around Cloud. His presence had become something of a comfort to Tifa since Monday, and his smile, small though it was, seemed infectious. "Bad news."

Immediately, Cloud turned serious. His face reflected genuine concern. "What's wrong?"

"I'm grounded," Tifa made a face. "My father and I had a fight when he saw my Physics exam, and he said I couldn't go out of the house after school. So I have to ask you a favor."

"Sure," Cloud agreed easily. "Anything."

"Well, since I can't go over to your house for our tutoring session, can you come over to my house?" Tifa looked up shyly at him. "I'm really sorry, Cloud. I know it'll mean more effort on your part. And here, you're the one doing me a favor by agreeing to tutor me. It's just that I didn't know my father was going to ground me, so-"

Cloud gave a small chuckle and held up a hand to stem the flow of her apologies. "It's fine, Tifa. I don't mind. Besides, you're tutoring me in English Lit, right? So you're doing me a favor too."

"It's okay with you?" Tifa asked hesitantly. "I mean, it won't be too much trouble?"

"Nah, it's alright," Cloud rubbed the back of his head absentmindedly. "I have to stop by the day care first to check on Mom and the kids, since Shera had to go on leave, but I'll be at your house by, say, four fifteen?"

Tifa smiled. "Perfect. I'll have cookies ready for you, then. They won't be as good as your mom's, but my little brother says they're pretty tasty."

Cloud reddened and held up his hands. "You don't have to bother-"

"Oh, it's no bother. Denzel -that's my little brother- and his class are going on a field trip today and he'll be home late, so I have to make the cookies 'cause I know he'll be hungry as a wolf by the time he gets there. I'll whip up some for you too."

"Thanks." Cloud grinned at her.

They were nearing her homeroom and Tifa was just about to bid Cloud goodbye when Priscilla, who was in the same homeroom as Tifa, passed them. The blond girl tapped Tifa on the shoulder with a wide smile, ignoring Cloud as if he didn't exist.

"Hey, Teef. I'll save you a seat, okay?"

Priscilla's toothy grin was so wide, it occupied half her face. And this was the girl who, only two days ago, had said Tifa had gone "whacko" and was "a slut". Really, the bizarreness of human nature.

Luckily Tifa's small, forced smile and non-committal shrug were enough to satisfy Priscilla. The girl moved past them and entered the room, leaving Tifa and Cloud both staring at her. Tifa shook her head and turned to Cloud who was staring after Priscilla with a confused expression on his face.

"What was that all about? Why's she being so nice to you all of a sudden?" Cloud wondered, his pale eyebrows knotted over his sapphire eyes. "I mean, she was so mean to you two days ago."

"I know," Tifa agreed. "It's been like this since I got here. Everyone's being really nice and going out of their way to talk to me. Jessie actually came up to me and asked me to hang out with her and Elena this afternoon."

"What did you say?"

"I said no, of course, silly," Tifa rolled her eyes and gave Cloud an exasperated smile. "We have a tutoring session remember? Besides, even if we didn't, I'm not going to hang out with them anymore. It's much more fun to hang out with you guys."

"Really?" Cloud asked. His tone was teasing, but his dark blue eyes were serious and... a little hopeful? "Even though we're the 'freaks'?"

Tifa bumped his shoulder with hers. "Even though you're the 'freaks'."

The grin that lit up Cloud's face was the widest she had seen on him yet. It made his face seem adorably boyish and cute, and it made Tifa smile back, enjoying the easy camaraderie between the two of them. "Anyway, Jessie told me that the reason why everyone is being so nice is because of Zack. Apparently, he blew up in the parking lot last Monday and told everyone the truth. You know, that I didn't cheat on him."

"He did?"

"Mm-hmm," Tifa nodded. "I guess everyone felt guilty about the things they said, so they're being nice to me to make up for all those rumors... I'll have to thank Zack for that..."

She smiled. It was nice to know that Zack was still Zack, even if he wasn't the perfect guy she'd envisioned him to be. He'd known the truth, and he'd stuck by it, even though it marred his good reputation. He was still a good guy.

The ringing of the school bell jerked Tifa out of her thoughts and reminded her that she still hadn't gone inside the room. She looked up at her companion and gave him a wide smile. "I gotta go. I'll see you later, Cloud."

"Yeah. See ya."

She watched as Cloud disappeared down the hall to his own homeroon before stepping into hers. Before she was fully in the room, Yuffie -who was thankfully in the same homeroom- spotted her and immediately grabbed her arm, frog-marching her over to the seat beside hers and giving Tifa a convenient excuse not to sit with Priscilla who was in the back row.

Tifa smiled. It looked like it was going to be a good day.

...

...

...

...

"Hey, man. Got a minute?"

Cloud looked up from the engine he was polishing just in time to see Zack standing at the garage door.

Classes were over for the day, but it was surprising to see Zack here at his house. He was usually in the field for football practice around this time. Cloud had seen the rest of the team in the field, so he knew their practice wasn't canceled today. There had to be something Zack really wanted to talk about if he had deliberately missed football practice to go over to Cloud's house.

"Sure. C'mon in."

Zack did, surveying the bike Cloud was working on. He walked around it with a low whistle, obviously impressed. "Nice. It's a beauty, man. You really fixed it up."

"Nah, just a bit of tinkering here and there," Cloud shrugged as he wiped sweat from his brow with his sleeve. "I'm taking it out for a test ride today. Just to see how it'll run."

"Where you goin'?"

Wiping his hands on a rag, Cloud chose his words carefully. "Over to Tifa's. She's tutoring me in English Lit. You know how bad I am at that."

"Yeah. You stink at English Lit." Zack laughed, remembering their Game With No Name days.

The mention of Tifa's name sobered him up, though. Ever since Monday, he'd thought of nothing but Tifa and how much he missed her and hoped that setting the record straight would at least help her deal with the consequences of his mistake better. She deserved much more from him.

And then today, just after lunch, he'd found a note in his locker written in Tifa's handwriting with only two words on it: Thank you.

He couldn't blame her for not talking to him in person. Hell, he didn't even deserve her thanks, and the fact that she was thanking him for doing something he should do meant that she had probably been greatly affected by the things everyone said. More than she had let on.

It made him feel like a real shit.

Being here made him feel even shittier, because he was here for selfish reasons. He'd heard the rumors that she and Cloud were together, and jealousy had eaten at him from the inside. Him, Zack, who had no right to be jealous when he had cheated on Tifa in the first place.

Yeah, shit alright.

Cloud had dropped onto a small wooden bench in the corner of the garage and was taking a swig from a glass of pink-colored liquid. Zack sat down beside him and raised an eyebrow.

"You drink unidentified pink stuff now?"

The comment earned him a punch in the arm. "Shut up. It's pink lemonade. Aerith taught the kids how to make it and now it's their favorite drink. They sent some over. Want some?"

"Blechh! No way, dude. I wouldn't drink that stuff even if you paid me." Zack stuck his tongue out at the glass filled with pink liquid that Cloud was offering him. He didn't know this Aerith person since he didn't know the crowd Cloud usually hung out with, but there was something disturbing about drinking something so... pink.

"Suit yourself." Cloud downed the rest of the stuff, and the two of them sat quietly for a minute.

Finally, it was Zack who broke the silence. After all, he was the one who had sought his cousin out to talk; he had to start sometime.

"Listen, man... I came here to ask you something. I know I have no right to ask this, especially after what I did, but... I heard you and Tifa hang out a lot nowadays, and I was wondering if that meant... I mean... It's like- I thought... Is she...? Are you-?"

He raked a hand through his thick mane of jet-black spikes and ran a hand down his face in frustration. He had no idea what to say. Zack Fair -known smooth talker- was stammering like a complete idiot. If only everyone could see him now.

Cloud listened to his cousin stumble over his words. He knew what Zack was trying to ask, and he knew the answer. "We're just friends, Zack."

It was the truth, and Cloud had no reason whatsoever to feel guilty the way he was feeling now. Because he'd told Zack the truth. He and Tifa were just friends.

Except sometimes -despite what he'd told Aerith and Zack, what he told himself constantly- he found himself wanting to be more than a friend to Tifa. That through some kind of miracle, she'd fall in love with him, Cloud Strife, and want to be more than a friend to him too.

But she wouldn't, Cloud knew that. She was still hurting over Zack, and from what he'd seen, still in love with him. With a sharp pang, he remembered the way she'd smiled when she'd told him that it was Zack who came to her rescue. That it was Zack who'd made everything better for her, and not Cloud. Her smile had been soft and wistful and so very beautiful that it made Cloud's gut ache every time he thought about it.

Even though they weren't together anymore, Tifa still belonged to Zack, and he, Cloud, was just another friend.

...

...

...

...

Tifa was nervous.

Why was she so nervous? She had no reason to be. She was just having a friend over. She'd invited lots of friends over to her house before, right? Elena, Jessie, and other girls: Amanda and Larissa from middle school, Kumiko back in fifth grade, Bijou back in second, oh, and Gillian from kindergarten.

And boys too! She'd had Reno and Rude over once, when they were borrowing her notes in Wutainese -she suspected that was more because Rude wanted an excuse to talk to her; everyone in school knew that Rude had had a thing for her back in their sophomore year.

And Zack, of course, went over to her house every other day during the time they had been dating.

See? She really was nervous! Even the thought of Zack wasn't enough to distract her from her nervousness, and that alone was a mark of how nervous she was.

She was also mentally babbling. Another sign.

Tifa sighed. She needed to do something with her hands to stop them from fidgeting. Too bad the cookies were done. They could have occupied her hands and brain to stop her from fretting. They were now arranged perfectly on a plate that was waiting on the table. The table was neat. The living room was neat. Everything was neat.

There was nothing more for her to do but wait for Cloud to arrive. And that was precisely the problem.

There really was something wrong with her. Why should she be so nervous to have Cloud over? She knew he wouldn't be critical of her living space. It wasn't as if he was going to criticize her just because there was a piece out of place in her mother's antique bottle collection, and- oh, Gaia, there really was a piece out of place!

Tifa hurried over and pushed the pretty blue glass bottle over a few millimeters so that it was perfectly aligned with its fellows. Once she was satisfied with the arrangement, she moved back and admired her work.

... Aaaannnd she had just reached a new level of obsessive compulsive behavior.

Geez, you'd think I was having the President over. She sighed and plopped down on the couch, hugging one of pillows. If she was really honest with herself, the real reason she was nervous was because it was Cloud who was coming over.

She had known him for only a few days, but somehow, he had managed to become... important to her. His opinion was important to her. He and his friend had been so wonderful to her. She wanted them to think she was worthy of being their friend.

There you go again. Tifa sighed. It was precisely this way of thinking that had pushed her into behaving like the cool crowd. Thinking that she had to behave a certain way in order to be accepted.

Cloud and his friends had accepted her exactly as she was. Not because she was pretty or popular or the school's queen bee, but because she was Tifa. She didn't need to act differently around them. She just had to be herself.

The sound of a motorcycle engine rumbling brought her out of her reverie and Tifa looked up. It sounded like the motorcycle was just in front of her house. Confused, Tifa got up and walked to the front door. None of their neighbors owned a motorcycle, so who in the Planet's name was riding a motorbike around here?

Peering around the door, Tifa saw exactly who it was and her mouth dropped open.

"Cloud?"

There was no mistaking the blue eyes peering up at her from under the helmet. Cloud gave her a grin as he turned the engine off and removed his helmet, flattened spikes bouncing almost comically back into their usual gravity-defying position.

"Hey."

With an incredulous laugh, Tifa raced down the steps of her front porch and skidded to a stop beside the bike. As if the surprise of Cloud riding a motorbike wasn't enough, there was the bike itself. Tifa didn't know much about motorcycles or engines and stuff, but Cloud's bike was... amazing! The black metal was sleek and polished and obviously well-maintained. Cloud was sitting astride it, and Tifa had never seen him look so comfortable.

Now she knew why his figurine had a motorbike with it.

"Cloud, this is..."

"This," he gestured to the bike with a proud smile, "is Fenrir. He's a Hardy Daytona. Fixed it from my Dad's old bike. My mom lets the kids help me fix it every now and then, but she won't let me ride it without the helmet. House rules."

Tifa ran an appreciative finger over the silver handlebars. "It's unbelievable! How come you never ride it to school?"

Cloud laughed. It was a warm, comfortable sound. "Can you imagine the ruckus that would make?"

"Good point." Tifa nodded, grinning. "My little brother is gonna freak when he sees this! He gets home in about an hour or so, and you'll be able to meet him. C'mon in, you can put Fenrir in the garage."

Tifa led the way and opened the garage door for him while Cloud wheeled Fenrir in. Once Fenrir was settled, Tifa motioned Cloud into the house.

"Here. This is the kitchen." She waited patiently as Cloud looked around at the sunny room with its neat, polished surfaces and homey smell.

"You have a nice house," Cloud remarked as he pulled off his jacket. Tifa beamed in pleasure, her nervousness long-forgotten by now.

"Thanks. So, where do you want to study? Here, or in the living room?"

"Here's fine, I guess."

"Great. Here, I'll hang up your jacket," Tifa smiled as she took Cloud's jacket and made her way over to the closet where they hung up the coats. Over her shoulder, she called, "The cookies are on the table and there's soda in the fridge. Make yourself at home."

By the time she had returned, Cloud had dropped his schoolbag onto the floor and arranged his books on the table. He was also trying one of her cookies. When he saw her, he looked up with a grin. "Thish ish really good!"

Tifa laughed as she set her own books and notes beside his. "Thanks. So, shall we get started?"

Cloud swallowed his cookie mouthful and nodded. "I've got my Physics book right here. We can start with that."

"Okay. I completely bombed that last exam, so consider me a total idiot and start from the beginning." Tifa smiled wryly as she sat down across from him. Cloud opened his Physics book and began skimming through it.

"You're not a total idiot. The topics are complicated, so we just need to simplify it to make it easier to understand," Cloud stared down at his book. "Hmm, let's start with Magnetism… One of the most basic rules in magnetism is that any magnet always has two poles -North and South. These two poles attract each other, meaning the north end of a magnet is attracted to the south end of another magnet. Opposites attract."

"Opposites attract?"

"Yeah. Let's see, what can I use as an example... Oh, I know! Look at Vincent and Yuffie. Those two are complete opposites- Yuffie's always bright and sunny, Vincent's dark and brooding; Vincent never says anything, and Yuffie never shuts up. They're like opposite ends of a magnet, but they've been best friends -practically inseparable- since kindergarten... So, you see? Opposites attract. It doesn't always work in real life, of course; but in magnetism, that's the way things work."

"I see," Tifa smiled. It was much easier to understand things when Cloud explained them than when Professor Hojo did.

They spent the next hour or so with Cloud explaining basic principles to Tifa. He was an excellent teacher, connecting the most complicated ideas with the simplest things. To demonstrate magnetism and forces of attraction, he took a two of the magnets stuck on the Lockharts' fridge and placed them on opposite faces of a paper and made one move on its own by manipulating only the other. He also explained how electricity powered their different household appliances and why it had replaced Mako as a power source.

Cloud was just in the process of explaining the process of heat conduction to Tifa when rapid footsteps pounded across the front porch and the door swung open.

"I'm home!" Denzel's voice rang through the house and Tifa smiled. "Anyone home? Dad? Tifa?"

Tifa held up a hold-that-thought hand to Cloud and called back. "I'm in the kitchen, Denz! Come on, there's someone I want you to meet!"

Eager little boy footsteps raced over to the kitchen and a moment later, Denzel appeared, rusty brown hair tousled and grey-blue eyes curious. When he saw Cloud at the table, however, he grew shy and hid behind Tifa's leg.

"Denzel, this is Cloud. He's a friend of mine from school," she gave the little boy a fond smile before turning to Cloud. "Cloud, this is my little brother, Denzel."

Cloud smiled at her little brother, his dark blue eyes warm and sincere. He held out his hand to the little boy. "It's nice to meet you, Denzel."

Denzel peered out from behind Tifa's leg and looked at Cloud's hand for a moment before shaking it and giving the older male a tentative smile. "Hi."

For a second, Denzel looked like he was on the verge of saying something more. Both Tifa and Cloud watched as the little boy struggled to come up with the courage to say what was on his mind. Finally, he blurted out, "Is your hair really like that or did you make it look like a chocobo to make Tifa laugh?"

"Denzel!" Tifa gave a small laugh, which she quickly stifled behind her palm so she wouldn't offend Cloud. But she needn't have bothered, because Cloud himself was laughing too. He reached out and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Yup, I did," Cloud teased, his eyes still twinkling with mirth. When he looked up at Tifa, who was giggling behind her hand, his eyes softened even further. "And between you and me, kiddo, it was completely worth it."

Tifa met his eyes, and something about the sincerity in them made her blush clear to the roots of her hair. Luckily, she was spared the embarrassment of stammering by her little brother who had raced down to the garage, announcing that he was going to go riding around the block on his bike.

Still blushing, Tifa turned away to pour some soda for herself and her two companions. Before she could even call out to her brother and tell him the food was ready, the door to the garage burst open and Denzel bounded out, eyes wide and excited, snacks and food completely forgotten.

"Tifa! Tifa! There's a wicked-looking motorbike in the garage! You gotta see, it's AWESOME!"

Ah. So her brother had seen Cloud's bike. She and Cloud exchanged amused glances and Denzel turned to Cloud with an awed expression on his face. "Is that yours? Did you buy it? Did you make it yourself? Can I have a go on it?"

Tifa smiled. It looked like Cloud had won a fan in Denzel. She'd never heard her brother this excited since their father had bought him his favorite new video game. The kid was practically in Cloud's lap, quizzing him about every detail concerning Fenrir. Cloud, as at ease with Denzel as he was with the other kids at the day care, responded to him naturally, like an affectionate older brother.

"Hey, Teef! Cloud says I can ride with him on his bike if it's okay with you. Can I?" Denzel made his eyes go wide, using the full force of his puppy-eyes on her. "Pleeeeease?"

Tifa laughed, unable to resist. "Oh, alright. But after you do your homework and after Cloud and I finish studying."

"Yeah!" Denzel punched the air and shot up the stairs, schoolbag dragging behind him. "I'm gonna go do my homework now! Call me when you guys're done!"

Tifa smiled and shook her head before turning to Cloud. "Why do I get the feeling that you're gonna be a bad influence, Strife?"

Cloud laughed and shrugged. When he turned back to the table, however, his grin fell and he assumed an expression that would have been at home in a funeral. Tifa had placed his English Lit book open in front of him.

Now it was Tifa's turn to laugh. "Don't look like that. It's not gonna kill you, silly."

Still, Cloud's expression when he picked up the book made him look as if he were heading for the gallows. Shaking her head in amusement, Tifa flipped her own book open.

"Okay, the trick to English Lit is to read between the lines. Don't be intimidated if you can't immediately figure out what a passage or line means. There's a surface meaning to the words, but there's also a deeper meaning to them, and you have to find out what it is to grasp the essence of a piece of literature. Here, let's start with Loveless... 'My friend, the fates are cruel... There are no dreams, no honor remains...' What do you think it means?"

For the next hour, Tifa guided Cloud patiently through English Lit, letting him figure out the meaning of the lines on his own and occasionally giving some insights. By the time Denzel appeared, the morose expression on Cloud's face had eased.

"Can I go for a ride on Cloud's bike now?" Denzel asked eagerly when he saw that Cloud was packing up his books.

Cloud glanced at Tifa, who nodded. "Sure thing, kid. Just let me finish with this, then I'll take you out for a spin on Fenrir."

"Yes!" Denzel raced out to the front door to put his shoes on.

"So, same time tomorrow?" Tifa asked as Cloud slung his backpack over his shoulders.

"Yeah, sure," he smiled at her as they went into the garage. "I learned a lot today, Tifa. Thanks."

"Me too." Tifa agreed, handing him his jacket before opening the garage door. "Thanks for all your help, Cloud."

"No problem."

Denzel was already waiting impatiently for them in the driveway. As soon as the garage door opened, he scrambled over Fenrir with Cloud's help and accepted the helmet the older male handed over to him.

"Ready, Denzel?" Cloud asked as he gunned the engine.

"You bet!" was the little boy's enthusiastic reply.

"Here we go then." Cloud revved the engine and the motorcycle shot off with Denzel eagerly yelling out his excitement as the houses rushed past him. Cloud drove Fenrir up and down the block a couple of times before finally coasting to a stop in front of the Lockharts' house.

"That was soooo cool!" Denzel cried through the helmet as Cloud deposited him on the driveway. "Seriously, Teef! You should get Cloud to take you on a ride on Fenrir! It was awesome!"

Tifa laughed. "Maybe some other time, kiddo. Dad's gonna be home any minute now and I haven't started on dinner yet. Now, give Cloud his helmet back."

Denzel did so, with a wide grin up at his new hero. "Thanks, Cloud!"

"Don't mention it, kid," Cloud ruffled Denzel's hair before donning on the helmet and buckling it in place. To Tifa, he said, "See you at school!"

"Yeah, see you."

Cloud revved the engine for the second time and sped off. Both Tifa and Denzel ran down to the street, waving. Just as Cloud and Fenrir disappeared round the corner, their dad's car appeared around it and made its way over to their driveway.

Tifa and Denzel walked back up to the house to welcome their father back home. Before Robert had even managed to close the door, Denzel was bounding up to him, still caught up his excitement.

"Dad! Dad! Guess what? I rode Fenrir! It was unbelievable!"

"Fenrir?"

"The motorbike that passed you," Tifa explained at her father's questioning look.

"Ah. I take it that motorbike came from here?"

"Yeah, it was Cloud's. The friend I told you about. The one who's tutoring me in Physics."

The suspicious expression on his face told Tifa what he thought of a guy in a big, black motorbike teaching his daughter anything. She rolled her eyes. "Relax, Dad. Cloud's not a bad guy or anything. He fixed that bike on his own and he had to use it because he needed to come over here for our tutoring session. Because I'm grounded, remember?" she added pointedly.

"Yeah, Dad! Cloud's great!" Denzel agreed. "He's really nice!"

"Well, if he manages to help you get your grades back up, then I won't say anything about the bike." Robert remarked as he closed the garage door and went into the house, flanked by his kids. Denzel raced off into the living room, making all kinds of motorbike sounds and imitating Cloud by holding his hands out and gunning an invisble engine.

Robert turned to his daughter who was getting started on dinner. "Listen, sweetheart. I'm sorry I was a little angry this morning. I know you're going through a tough time, what with you breaking up with your boyfriend and all. But you have to know that I just want what's best for you, and that includes you getting good grades."

Tifa sighed. "Yeah, I know, Dad. I'm sorry too. And I am working on getting good grades, I promise. That's why I asked Cloud to come over and tutor me."

"Okay, then." Robert cleared his throat, wanting to show some gesture of affection or something, but not quite sure how to. His daughter solved the problem by giving him a kiss on the cheek before shooing him away so she could make dinner.

Tifa shook her head as her father disappeared into the living room, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Love you too, Dad."


A/N: Oh, wow. That was a stumbling block of a chapter. Well, at least it's over now. I've got something planned for the next few chapters, so watch out! If all goes well, there'll be more CloTi fluff coming up!

See ya!