Hello readers! That last chapter was pretty exciting, huh?

"Papa! Papa, stop!"

Tifa ran for her father, who continued to ignore his daughter; he bashed Cloud's head into the wall twice more. Cloud was bleeding from his lower lip, and Tifa could see a bit of blood dripping from the back of his head. She reached for him, tugging at Derkus's arms in an effort to stop him. It worked; he backed off. Cloud collapsed against Aaron and Vincent, who she didn't even hear coming. Derkus continued to stare at the blond youth with a look of hatred.

Tifa was so furious, she didn't know anything better to say than:

"What the hell is the matter with you?!"

Derkus looked at her. "Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

"Dad, you could have killed him! What's your problem?!" She turned slightly to see Cloud, now holding his jaw with one hand, the back of his head with the other. She went over to him. "Are . . . are you okay?" He nodded slightly, giving her a half smile, then glaring past her at her father. Derkus lunged, but Matt caught him.

"Stop it!"

All eyes averted their attention to Marina, who was standing at the side door of her house that led out to the alley. She stared at Cloud with a look of despair, then at Derkus with one of sadness. Stepping out, she crossed over to Derkus, staring at him full in the face. Then she turned away from him, shaking her head. Tifa stood in front of Cloud in a defensive stance. Marina thought that she was willing to fight her own father in guard of her friend.

Her best friend.

Marina took a moment to measure the extent of Cloud's injuries. She noted the bruise on the side of his head, and the bloodied lip. It wasn't much, but she still saw some blood on Cloud's hand when he pulled it away from its spot to look at it. She turned to Derkus again, this time angry.

"You told me you were coming out here to talk to him! Not bash his head in! Look at you, acting like you're a teenager in a gang!"

Cloud's voice was heard, but it was quiet. "Who are you to talk?" Marina looked at him. He was still being supported by Vincent, Aaron there to make sure he didn't fall. Tifa gave him a tortured look; she didn't know how bad he was, but he looked pretty beat up.

"What Cloud?"

"Yeah, you wanna yell at him now, in front of Tifa and everyone else; inside the house, you would've taken his side."

Tifa shook her head, looking at him. "That's not true. She's your mother Cloud."

He snorted, then held his head from the amount of pressure that put on him. "Whatever. She's mymother, but I don't know how long she'll only be my mother."

Marina stared at him with wide eyes, a desperate look. "Cloud, stop it."

He snarled. "No. Why should I? She deserves to know."

Tifa's eyebrows furrowed. "Know what? What do I deserve to know?"

Vincent looked around, from Derkus to Marina, from Cloud to Tifa; he thought about everything that was just said, and everything that had been going on lately. "Oh no . . ."

The younger woman of the congregation averted her attention to him. "What Vincent?" He only shook his head. Her eyes got bigger, understanding that everyone knew something that she didn't. "What's going on?!"

Derkus growled from behind Matt. "Shut up boy. It's none of your business."

Cloud shrugged Vincent off gently, standing on his own. He smiled, trying not to laugh. "Are you serious? It's none of my business? Old man, I think you're delusional. How is it not my business? She's my fucking mother. And your daughter--it should have been Tifa's business a long time ago."

Tifa sighed, exasperated. "What?!"

"Shut up!" Derkus yelled.

"Cloud, please!" Marina pleaded.

"No! I won't." He turned to Tifa, who was on the verge of crying. "You wanna know what's going on?"

She nodded. Her father tried to push past Matt, but that wasn't happening.

"Tifa, when your dad is gone, where do you think he is?"

"A-at work. Like he says." She reached up, wiping her eyes to prevent anything from spilling over.

"And you believe everything he says, don't you?"

She stared at him, confusion etched across her features. "What do you mean?"

Cloud sucked in a breath through his teeth, feeling all the pain for the first time in the back of his head. He leaned on Vincent for support. "I mean, when he says he's going to work, and he leaves, you actually believe he's going to work?What about today? He wasn't even at the gig, and he told you he was going to Midgar this morning, didn't he?"

Tifa's eyes became even wider. "Wait . . ." She turned to Derkus, taking two strides towards him before stopping. "You did say that! Why are you still here?"

He opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Finally: "My . . . my flight got delayed sweetheart."

Cloud growled. "You've got to be the biggest liar I've ever seen in my life!"

"Shut up boy!"

"So you used up your time to bash Cloud's head in? Where were you? Why didn't you come?"

"I didn't want to see the results of you wasting your time with these brats."

All four guys snarled.

The tears began to leak from her eyes. "You honestly think I'm wasting my time? You didn't want to see me do something that I've always wanted to do because you can't just get past the fact that these are my friends? You act like you're eleven! You're supposed to support me; you're my father! Where were you?!"

"I don't have to answer to you young lady. I think you're getting your place in this household mixed up."

"And I don't think you've ever even known your place in our house!" Everything was silent; Derkus had no idea what to say, and everyone looked at Tifa with one of incredulence. "You're never home! You don't do anything when you are. You're only really around when I get sick, and then you leave as soon as I get better. You're supposed to be my father, but you just act like someone who's living off of me! I do everything around there!"

Derkus finally got past Matt, who thought that Cloud was in no more danger. Not until he opens his mouth again . . .

"That's not true Tifa. I am there."

She laughed shakily. "Yeah, when you have to come back and pack some more stuff for your next business flight. You act like I don't exist, and you have no reason for not liking my friends. These are the only people who like me for who I am, not how I look. You just don't get it."

Vincent whispered to Cloud, "Why don't you just say it? She's only making herself miserable, standing here and yelling at him."

Cloud nodded. "She'll figure it out if she keeps talking."

No one heard their conversation; everyone's attention was on the scene further down the alley. There were even people beginning to form at the end of the alleyway. It wasn't a lot; most of the townspeople were inside their houses, minding their own business because it was Saturday.

"And even when I'm sick, you barely pay any attention because Marina is always there . . ." Her father gave her a look of pure astonishment. "Yeah, I always hear her down there. I've never thought about it before, and I always thought I was dreaming until the last time I was sick. I heard the both you downstairs . . . laughing and . . ." She stopped, looking down at the ground. She thought about everything that had been exchanged between Cloud and her father in the past few minutes, then about all the times she'd been stuck in bed. Her head snapped up, her eyes quickly switching between Cloud's mother and her father. She backed away. Why hadn't I figured this out before? She knew why; every time she was in bed, she'd hear them talking, but she would be in so much pain, whatever was exchanged was incomprehensible. She barely even thought about it until now. "How . . . how could you . . .?"

"Tifa, please." Derkus said, taking a gentle hold of her arm.

She shook her head, getting out of his grasp. "No! You lied to me! You told me that I was just hearing things; that the fever was getting to me, but you lied! You've been lying to me for . . . for . . . I don't even know how long! I don't want to know." Tifa began to cry, and she hated herself for it. "You've betrayed me. Me, and my mother." Finally she looked at him one last time before turning and running past Cloud, Vincent, and Aaron. She went around the corner, and they all heard the door to her house slam.

She slammed the door, leaning against it for the support her legs weren't giving her. Finally, facing the door, her hand clutching it, she slid down, crying. She couldn't understand it; either that, or she just wouldn't.

How could he do this to me? How could he?

She thought about all the times he'd left the house since her mother died, claiming to be on his way to work. How long . . .? How long has this been happening? Tifa sniffed, reaching up to wipe her nose. It hadn't even been a minute, and there were several knocks upon the door. They sounded desperate.

"Go away!" She knew it was immature to say that, but it was the only thing that would come out of her mouth.

"Tifa!" It was Aaron. "Come on now! Cloud needs somewhere to go, and we're afraid your dad will kill him if he goes home."

She sniffed again, her hand crawling up the door to turn the lock. She stood, going over to the kitchen table, clasping her hands together in an effort to calm herself. Her head was down, her eyes staring blankly at the white surface of the table. The tears just streamed, and she was starting not to care.

The guys came in, Cloud being half carried, half limping into the house. He look at her, and before he knew it, he was being hauled off to the couch. Aaron came over to Tifa, sitting at the table with her. He didn't say anything, only holding her hand, and that was just what she wanted; all she needed to know was that her friends were there for her. As Vincent went to the bathroom for some bandages and Matt into the kitchen drawer for some ointment, Tifa's eyes went to Cloud's frame. He was breathing hard, a hand over his face. Is it in shame, or pain . . . or both?

She got up, gently letting go of Aaron's hand, walking over to the couch. Cloud didn't move, but she knew that he was aware of her presence next to him. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.

Not moving an inch, he answered, "It wasn't my responsibility to tell you. Hell, I just found out about a month and a half ago."

"That was plenty of time for you to say something. You knew he wasn't going to, and that Marina wasn't either."

"Shit Tifa! I know that!" He looked at her, taking in her tear-stained face, her taking in the pain on his. "Look, it's not like I was deliberately trying to keep this from you. I wanted to tell you, but it wasn't my place. My mother kept saying that she would, or that Derkus would, and no one said anything. When I went home after the gig at school, I found them on the couch . . . it wasn't pretty. I got fed up, and I told them that I was going to tell you." He sighed. "Tifa, I didn't want you to find out this way. Even though it would have been a little late today, I was going to tell you. It's just that your dad caught me outside."

Vincent was behind the couch. "Then what was that your mom was saying about him just talking to you?"

Cloud scoffed. "Please. That bull was just some made up crap to make it look like everything was just a coincidence. I'm fed up with her. I've been fed up with Derkus since I was about seven, so right now, they both don't really matter."

Tifa jumped up. "You don't know how much they do! How long have they been dating?! I need to know!"

Aaron, still at the table, said quietly, "You said you didn't . . ."

She turned to him ."I know I did! I just . . . I feel like I don't know anything anymore. Please, Cloud, tell me; how long have they been dating?"

He shrugged as Matt came over with the ointment. "I don't know. She sure as hell wouldn't tell me that."

Tifa sat down in front of the couch where Matt and Vincent were bent over Cloud. "Oh my God."

Everyone looked at her, the alarm in her voice making them stop whatever it was they were doing. She was pale all over; her face had lost the most color. She knew what she was thinking was out of this world, but it was a concern of hers, and it was important. She also knew the next thing she said would make everyone think about this whole situation from several new angles.

"Guys, you don't think my dad would have had an affair, do you?"

Did I say the last chapter was exciting? I meant this one...sorreh.
So, affair or not? Send me a review and I might let you know!
Yeah, I know it's been nine years since Tifa's mother died, but do years really matter?