…………………………………
Denial
…………………………………
Lucrecia waited a moment for the other people to walk away and she watched the smaller woman. She only had a few moments to speak to her before she had to return to the surgery. "I recognize you better now. Vincent had some pictures of you that he kept for a long time. At the grocery store, I didn't recognize you at first because I was just so tired from getting off of a very long shift. But I realized it was you later on. You haven't changed very much," she said with a small smile, one which Yuffie did not return. "He's not a bad person, but Vincent has been sad that he cannot get close to his son," she said quietly.
"And you think that's my fault?" Yuffie asked flatly. Who did this woman think she was? She knew nothing of what was going on between Vincent and their son.
"No, but I think that you should try talking to your son about giving him a chance," said Lucrecia.
Yuffie felt her eyes go cold. "It's up to Vincent whether he can win over my son's respect. I won't interfere there and you shouldn't either. This does not concern either of us," she said pleasantly, trying to keep her cool.
Lucrecia eyed her for a long moment. "You're very pretty," she said softly.
Yuffie almost cackled at the absurdity of a beautiful, successful woman calling her pretty. Though she had never been one to worry over her looks, looking at the doctor now was making her feel insecure. Lucrecia was all that she wasn't, and Yuffie could see why Vincent had gone after her and married her. In addition to being a doctor, Lucrecia was tall, had a killer figure, a smooth, beautiful face, and she seemed like a good person. "Thank you," she replied uncomfortably. Then something occurred to her. "Uh… you know, my son hasn't yet met your daughter. I think it would be good for him to get to know his sister. Unless… you haven't told her yet that she has a brother?"
Lucrecia looked a little uneasy as Yuffie mentioned her daughter. "Look, I don't know how much Vincent has told you, but… Laura—our daughter—isn't his biologically. I know you and I don't know each other at all, but I just thought you needed to know that. She's my daughter, and he has taken care of her as if she were his own."
Yuffie didn't show how shocked she really was at the revelation. Vincent wasn't the father of his wife's kid? Did that mean that she had cheated on him, or was the little girl a product of another relationship before he had come along? Well, it wasn't her business, no matter how curious she really was. "Well, I guess we don't have anything else to say to each other," said Yuffie.
Lucrecia just nodded once. "He loved you for a long time."
Yuffie shrugged. "But you made him forget me, so congratulations to you," she said, not at all meaning it. She refused to even think about the kiss Vincent had forced on her.
"At least you have his son, and that's one thing I won't ever be able to give him. So I can only ask you—plead really—for you to help Vincent form a bond with his son. I think they both need it," said Lucrecia before she walked away and back into the OR.
Yuffie just stared after her and shook her head. Her words about not being able to give Vincent a son were none of her business. She wanted to keep as much distance as possible between her them, so he was on his own when it came to their son.
………
"Are you okay?"
Kadaj looked up from where he had been staring into space and saw Tifa. What he would've given up to have her as his mother. He remembered her from his younger years, when he had been best friends with Denzel. The taste of Tifa's homemade cookies had always been the best. He wanted to be angry at her for knowing about his mother, but he just couldn't. In all honesty, Tifa had been the only mother figure he had ever known. "I'm fine," he said in a flat tone.
"You're not," she said gently. "And it's okay. You found out something big today, and it's okay if you're not fine. I know you may not want my help right now, but… I'm here for anything you may need, okay?" she asked.
Kadaj nodded and allowed Tifa to hug him tightly around the shoulders. He slowly pulled away and managed a half-smile. "I'm gonna get some fresh air. Can you please tell my father that I need some time alone?"
Tifa nodded. "Sure. Just don't be gone too long." Kadaj nodded and slowly walked away, not noticing his father take the seat he had just vacated. "He went to get some fresh air. He'll be back in a little bit."
Sephiroth sighed and nodded. "He's been very passive for a while now, and that worries me more than the yelling."
"Well, he almost saw his mother give her life for him, how would you really expect him to react in a situation like this?"
"I'm worried that when he sees Aerith again, he'll blow up completely. I know her husband doesn't know about us yet, but he will suspect if Kadaj wants to remain by her side. It's not our business to let him know that his wife had a son with another man."
"Don't worry about Cloud right now. Worry about Kadaj. He needs you in this moment more than ever," said Tifa seriously. "He may be hurt now, but he will understand why you kept his mother's identity a secret. You just to have to be strong because these next few days are not going to be the easiest."
Sephiroth smirked faintly. "Wow Tifa, you're such a great support," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. Tifa slapped his arm and then gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Be strong for yourself too. I know this isn't easy for you."
"I'll be fine," he murmured.
"I know this is my entire fault… I'm sorry," she said guiltily.
Sephiroth shook his head. "This had to happen sooner or later. It was my mistake for not talking to Kadaj about it and easing him into the knowledge that his mother was close by. Don't feel guilty," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple before walking away as well.
Tifa stood and walked out of the waiting room, spotting Cloud by the elevators, looking pale and miserable. She stopped in front of him and sighed. "She'll be okay. She saved Kadaj from getting hit by the car."
Cloud just nodded. "I've been a real asshole to her these past few days."
"You don't say," said Tifa, trying to keep her sarcasm to a minimum. It wasn't the time to pile more guilt over the man's shoulders, no matter how much he deserved it. "Well, all you need to do is show her that you love her and that you're by her side. No matter what."
He didn't catch onto her meaningful words and just nodded absently. "I just… I just hope that she doesn't have any kind of permanent damage after this. When I arrived a while ago, the doctor told me that they would put Aerith into a coma after the surgery, in order for her brain to heal."
Tifa watched him and felt her heart fill with sadness for the man she had once loved. It didn't matter that he was trying to take Denzel from her; she had always been a bleeding heart for other people and she hated that the most about herself. "Hey," she said, pulling him into a comforting hug. "She'll be alright. All we have to do is have faith, okay?"
Cloud nodded against her and held her tightly, trying to hold in the despair he was feeling. He didn't want to end up crying like a baby in such a public place. He was also aware of the fact that though he had made Tifa miserable for the past few weeks as well, she was offering him comfort and a shoulder to cry on if he wanted to. It had always been one thing he had loved the most about her, her compassion for other people. "Thanks, Teef," he murmured, feeling her nod against his shoulder.
"Don't worry about—" Tifa looked up just in time to see the elevator doors slide open and Zack walk out. "—it," she finished slowly. Great. Now he would get the wrong idea and that was the last thing she needed right now.
Zack's eyes narrowed as they settled on Tifa, who was in the arms of her ex-husband. He tried to hold in the burning feeling of jealousy inside of him, but there was just something absolutely infuriating about seeing the woman he loved in the arms of another man. Someone who had held her that way and even more intimately before he had come along. He watched her draw away from Cloud and cleared his throat to make his presence known to Cloud.
Cloud looked from his face to Tifa and he crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. Tifa managed a smile that was more a grimace and let out a sigh. "Cloud, could you give Zack and me a moment?"
"I'm going to go get a cup of coffee," Cloud muttered, eyeing Zack again before walking away slowly.
Zack took her hand and pulled her down the hall, away from where the nurse's desk was and where the patients couldn't be disturbed. "You want to tell me what you were doing hugging that guy? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he the one who has been trying to take your son from you?" he asked darkly.
Tifa gave him an annoyed look. "It was just a friendly hug," she said petulantly.
"Right, and I'm a monkey's uncle," muttered Zack.
"You'd fit the part," she said waspishly, watching as his eyes narrowed. "Look, this isn't the moment for us to be arguing. Aerith is stable as of now, but she's still not out of danger," Tifa said with a heavy sigh.
"Well, it's good to hear that she's okay, but that's not why I'm here and you know it," he replied. Tifa let out a tired sigh and nodded. "Look, about Scarlet and her kid. I don't think she's mine. I won't know for sure until we have the tests done, but I know what kind of woman she is. I don't want to lose you because of this."
Tifa looked at him sadly. "And if she is yours? I'm willing to bet Scarlet gave you some type of ultimatum."
Zack nodded. "She did, but I have never responded well to ultimatums. If the child is mine, I will gladly take care of her and I'll be there for every step of her life. If Scarlet doesn't cooperate, I'll take this to court and demand joint custody or something of the likes. Please, Tifa, I don't want to throw away all the good things we've had in this time that we have been together. I… I love you," he said seriously.
Tifa felt her resolve crumble into tiny pieces at his words. She moved forward into his arms and squeezed him tightly. "Me too," she murmured, smiling as he kissed her temple. "I love you too."
"Then will you be with me again?" he asked hopefully. He couldn't even begin to describe how it had felt when she had refused to return his calls or to speak to him. They had only been that way for a few days, but they had felt like hell.
She looked up at him and smiled. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," he replied, leaning forward to kiss her. Her lips were soft and pliant against his, so sweet that he didn't want to think about never tasting her this way again. Scarlet wouldn't get away with whatever she was planning. He would make sure of it. He drew away from her and cupped her face, smirking slightly. "I don't ever want to see his hands on you again, or I won't be held responsible for my actions."
Tifa didn't know whether to believe him or not, but the possessive look in his eyes was very serious. She wrinkled her nose and hugged him again. "You're so hot when you get all jealous," she teased, remembering what he had said a while ago to her.
Zack chuckled and took her hand as he guided them back towards the waiting room. "You know," he whispered. "I ran into Seph's kid while I was coming up here. Why is he still here? He usually doesn't care about other people."
Tifa sighed and shrugged. It was too late to hide the secret from him now. "Aerith is really Kadaj's mom. It's my fault this is all happening." At his questioning look, she explained everything that had happened, from Denzel and Oren spilling the beans, to Aerith almost giving her life for her son.
"No, sweetheart, don't think that. It was just a… very cruel twist of fate," he said, squeezing her shoulders. He was still reeling at the news that Seph's secret woman had been Aerith. They had been best friends for a long time, but had lost track of each other for a bit during SOLDIER. Maybe during one of his leaves Seph had gotten together with her and Kadaj had resulted from it. All Zack remembered was meeting the little shrimp when he had been a snot nosed three-year-old and his mother had been nowhere in sight. Sephiroth had refused to talk about her at all.
"Just don't tell him that I told you. I've been talking about this to too many people and Cloud still doesn't know. It's up to Aerith whether or not she will tell him now," said Tifa quietly. She smiled when Yuffie walked over to them and winked.
"Did you sort things out?" the smaller woman asked them.
Zack nodded and Tifa just pinched his cheek gently. "How about you? What did Vincent's wife say to you?"
"She wants me to talk to Oren to soften him up a little. She says Vincent is sad because he's not getting anywhere with Oren. I told her it isn't my business whether my son accepts him or not and that neither of us should interfere," Yuffie said. "Did you see her, Teef? She's like a supermodel," she muttered.
Tifa just shook her head. "You're a pretty woman, too, Yuffie. I don't know why you never saw yourself the way other people did. Many guys in high school were after you, did you forget that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Yuffie gave her a flat look but then grinned. "Is she the best friend a girl could ask for, or what?" she asked Zack.
"You know, I may be jealous that she loves you more than me," he said with a grin, making a sound when Tifa elbowed him. "I was kidding, geez. I know that you love me differently than what you love her," he muttered.
Tifa smiled brightly and just shook her head. "Come on, let's go wait a while longer. I don't want to go without knowing that Aerith is okay," she said with a heavy sigh.
"Come on, baby, I'll sit with you," said Zack, wrapping an arm around her as all three walked towards the waiting room again.
Yuffie watched them with a small smile on her face and tried not to feel envious of her own friend. She loved Tifa to death, but now she had a man who wanted to take care of her and who loved her. It was something to be envious about, but in a good way. She wanted to have someone like that again, since from the moment Vincent had left her, she had given up on having someone to love. Reno had been her friend with benefits for many years now, and she knew that sooner or later either of them would get bored of it, or they would find someone else. She didn't want to pine her entire life over a man who had broken her heart. She wanted to move on and having Vincent ever present in her life was not going to help in accomplishing that. Maybe it was a good idea to make things smoother between him and Oren. That way Oren would spend time with Vincent outside of her home. Yuffie sighed to herself and stared out of the window to the city. She would talk to her son later on. She just hoped that Vincent didn't decide to visit his wife while she was there. It would make things very awkward and uncomfortable.
…………
"I don't think your mom will be happy that you took her car without asking," stated Oren as he and Denzel walked towards the hospital where Kadaj's mom was being treated.
"Well, her phone is off so there was no way for me to ask her, was there?" he asked snidely. "Besides, there's some apologizing that I—we—need to do."
Oren shrugged. "You think that guy won't just want to bash our noses in? I mean, he looked pretty unstable when he found out about his mom." As they were about to enter the building, his crimson eyes caught a flash of silver and he stopped his friend. He motioned over. "Look, he's right there."
Denzel looked over and let out a loud breath. "Come on," he said, approaching the other guy. "Hey," he said in greeting.
Kadaj looked over slowly and sighed. "Hey."
They all looked at each other and shared a tense moment. Denzel sighed. "Look, we're sorry that we said all those things to you. I know that it wasn't the best way to find out that your mom was close to you."
Kadaj just nodded. "It's alright. You're not the ones I'm angry at," he muttered.
"You should at least give your mom a chance to explain herself," said Oren.
"She had plenty of times to tell me that she was my mother and she didn't. She abandoned me for sixteen years. It's not so easy to just let her into my life again, even if she almost gave hers for mine," he said dryly.
"You know," said Denzel. "Oren is in a similar situation. His dad left his mom before he was even born, and he didn't know a thing about her being pregnant. Now he's back and he wants to be in his life. You think he deserves to have the chance?"
"Thanks for laying out my business like that," grumbled Oren. Denzel just smirked and waited for Kadaj to reply.
"Well, he didn't know you even existed, why hold that against him?" Kadaj asked.
"Because he never even bothered to contact my mother. He left and never came back. He remarried, had another kid with his wife, and now he wants to make things up to me? Nothing will ever erase watching my mom cry because she was heartbroken over him. If he wants to be a part of my life, he's got to earn the right," said Oren darkly. Denzel just shrugged.
"What about you? Any issues with your parents?" Kadaj asked him. He remembered he had once been close friends with Denzel, but they had drifted apart and had stopped hanging around years ago. He felt more comfortable while he was alone, but sometimes he missed having friends to hang out with and who knew what he was going through.
Denzel nodded. "I found a paper in this drawer. My mom doesn't know I know already, but my dad is being a jerk and he's going to fight my mom in court for my custody. He's got another thing coming to him if he thinks that I'm going to willingly go with him," he snapped.
"I guess we all have our problems," Kadaj said with a faint smirk.
"Look, if you ever wanna hang out, let us know," said Oren. "Sometimes we hang at Denzel's or my house with a few other friends. We generally pig out and play video games. Sometimes we even go as a group to play paintball and other stuff. You can come too, if you want."
Kadaj nodded and felt his anger and resentment lift a little. "Alright. Give me a call to let me know," he found himself saying. They exchanged their phone numbers and walked in companionable silence towards the elevators.
Just as the doors were closing, someone else stepped in and Oren recognized him immediately. Vincent looked at the teens in surprise and offered a very small smile to them all. "Hello, Oren," he said quietly.
"Hey," Oren replied, not at all comfortable being in such an enclosed place with his father. Denzel and Kadaj watched the other two curiously. Kadaj realized that the man was Oren's father, since the color of the eyes and hair made it glaringly obvious. The tension in the elevator was suffocating and it made the space seem even smaller. The doors finally opened on their floor, and Oren rolled his eyes when his father stepped off there as well.
"He couldn't have gotten off on another floor," Oren complained so that only Denzel heard him.
"I would really like to speak to you one of these days," said Vincent. "There are many things that I need to explain to you."
"Right," Oren said flatly. "You're going to explain why if you're married to some other woman you had your tongue down my mom's throat?" he asked snidely. Denzel and Kadaj looked uncomfortable.
"I…" Vincent just trailed off and didn't know what to say. "It was a mistake that I regret deeply." Though that wasn't really the truth, he wasn't about to tell his son. He was barely even handling the situation himself. Just the thought of Yuffie with another man, even while he himself was married to someone, made him want to kill something.
"I think I should go," said Kadaj.
"Keep in touch," Oren said as he and Denzel shook hands and the other teen walked away. Denzel just gave his friend and his father a little bit of distance.
"I watched my mom cry for you, years and years. I don't want you messing her up again," Oren said darkly. "You may be the man who gave me half of what I am, but that doesn't mean you're my father. If you want to be a part of my life, respect my mother," he said seriously.
Vincent nodded and looked away from his son's piercing gaze. He may have had his coloring, but the boy had his mother's glare and her short temper. "Again, I apologize for what I did and when I see your mother, I will apologize to her as well."
"Apologize for what?" asked a voice from behind them. Both turned to look at Lucrecia, who was pulling on her white doctor's coat. She looked from her husband to his son and found even more similarities between them than the last time she had seen the teenager. Vincent cleared his throat.
"Why don't you ask him and see if he'll tell you? I have to go find my mother," Oren said before he walked away.
"More problems?" Lucrecia asked him softly, leaning in to kiss his cheek.
Vincent nodded and he spotted Yuffie as Oren stopped in front of her. His eyes met hers and she stared at him for a moment. Something passed between them that he couldn't stop, and he had a feeling that Lucrecia had seen it too. Then she walked back into the waiting room with their son and the moment broke into pieces. "I said some things that I shouldn't have," he said simply.
Lucrecia cleared her throat and wished that she hadn't been privy to the look Vincent and the mother of his son had shared. She wanted to believe that her husband had come to love her, but she believed the saying, 'you never forget your first love.' She knew the story behind Vincent's separation from that woman, but it didn't make her heart hurt less, knowing that some part of him still loved Yuffie. "I should go update my patient's family," she said, walking away before he had a chance to say anything else to her.
When she walked into the waiting room, the only people in the room were the ones waiting on Mrs. Strife. She offered a smile, but didn't dare to look at Yuffie, not knowing what look would be on her face when she did. "The surgery was shorter than we had originally thought, which means that there was less damage than we had predicted. That's good news, of course, but she will have to remain in the coma until we make sure that there is no more damage that we may have missed. She will be in a private room in about an hour."
Cloud shook her hand and nodded. "Thank you very much for saving her."
"You're welcome. If you have any questions, let the nurse know and I will be with you as soon as I can," she said before she walked out of the room.
Tifa smiled in relief and patted Cloud's shoulder. "You see? She's fine now, there's no need for you to worry so much."
Cloud gave her a half-smile and nodded. "Thanks for being here, Tifa."
"Don't worry about it," she said, her fingers entwining with Zack's. "We'll come by tomorrow to check and see how Aerith is doing," Tifa said before pulling him along.
Yuffie just offered Cloud a very short and small smile before she walked out with her son too. Cloud may have been in pain at the moment, but he still wasn't one of her favorite people. Hopefully this tragedy would make him see how irrational he was acting. As she began to walk away with her son, she spotted Vincent talking quietly to Lucrecia as she made a few notes in a little notepad she had in her hand. The doctor then looked up and offered him a sweet smile. Vincent returned it, but much smaller and reached up to touch her cheek. Yuffie looked away and felt her heart hurt in her chest. It was one thing to just imagine them together, but another thing entirely different to see them together with her own eyes.
"You okay?" Oren asked her before they stepped onto the elevator.
Yuffie smirked bitterly. "Just peachy, kid. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
………
Kadaj avoided his father for the remainder of the evening, though he knew that the man was still around. His thoughts were conflicting with each other, but his resentful side, the side that he had tried to ignore and the side that held his hurt feelings, was still winning. He couldn't bring himself to forgive his mother so easily, even when she had saved him from being the one hurt and in a hospital bed. Of course he was sad that she was in that state at the moment, but one act didn't erase sixteen years of abandonment. He just couldn't, no matter what way he looked at it.
A while later, he found himself stepping into the room she had been placed in. Something squeezed painfully in his chest at the sight of her. Her head was bandaged and her face was scraped, a section of her cheek was still raw and already turning a shade of purple. There was a brace on her wrist and her arms were also scraped and bruised. He walked over to sit at her side and let out a shaky breath. She looked so different from the pretty woman he remembered she had been only a few hours ago. The lids were closed over her emerald eyes, and Kadaj thought about how he had her eyes. His father's eyes were green too, but a very different shade. He didn't know how he felt about having her eyes, but he supposed it was okay, since he looked mostly like his father. Maybe a part of her punishment was that he looked very little like her.
Kadaj tentatively took her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. He watched her as she slept, trying to imagine what he would say to her when she finally woke up. Maybe he should practice with her when she couldn't hear him or reply to any of his words. "Look, I know I said that I wished you were dead, but… that wasn't what I wanted. I'm not ready to forgive you for abandoning me and… I don't know if I ever will be. It would just be good if you… made it out of this alive."
He looked at her face again and swallowed hard. "I know my dad may not have shown it, but you did a real number on him too. I don't think I ever saw him with another woman more than once. Maybe… maybe he's been waiting for you to come back to him?" he shrugged, silver hair falling over his eyes. "I don't know. I never really gave him a good chance at getting to know me, and I think that it's because I thought I didn't need him, or you. When you wake up, I'll probably be a little bit of a jerk to you, but if you stick around and show me that you can deal with it, maybe I'll forgive you some day… mom."
Cloud had been in the process of entering the room when he had stopped at the end of the one-sided conversation. He froze and wondered if he was hearing correctly. His blood ran cold and he stared at the boy as he squeezed Aerith's hand. "What did you just call her?" he asked softly.
Kadaj looked up and gave him a blank look. "…I called her…"
"Mom? But that's impossible. I would've known if she'd had any children," said Cloud, feeling anger threatening to take over.
"I don't know if she was ever going to tell you, but I barely found out today. She pushed me out of the way of an oncoming car because I was yelling things at her and my father. You know, she had me right out of high school and then she abandoned me," said Kadaj matter-of-factly.
Cloud shook his head. She wouldn't have been capable of doing something so… so cruel. He couldn't even begin to believe what the boy was saying. But now that the silver-haired teen looked at him head-on, he could see the similarities between him and his wife. Kadaj had her eyes, the color and the shape, and he seemed to have some of her facial features, though his coloring made him look more like his father.
Cloud just shook his head and looked at her, so pale and nearly lifeless on the hospital bed. Everything he had ever thought of his wife was crumbling before him, all the love for her sweetness, her comprehension, her compassion. She had changed from what she had been in high school, and he had fallen in love with her all over again, but he could see that it was all a lie. She had been capable of abandoning her own child. He stormed out of her room, his thoughts running rampant in his head. His eyes narrowed when his gaze fell on Sephiroth. Everything suddenly made sense. He knew why she had been acting strange for the past few weeks, why he had caught her in that man's house and why she had been out at dinner. Had she been cheating on him too? How much did he really know his wife?
"She's his mother?" Cloud asked darkly. Sephiroth eyed him for a moment and then nodded. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" he nearly yelled.
"Don't take this out on me. She left me and Kadaj when he was a baby. She never looked back and she never tried to get in touch with him. Tell me, why should I have said anything to you?" Sephiroth asked calmly.
"The Aerith I know wouldn't have been capable of doing something so…"
"She isn't the angel you had thought she was. It takes someone who is stone cold to abandon a baby for so long," said Sephiroth calmly.
Cloud just shook his head and walked away from him. He didn't know where he would go, but he wouldn't be returning to the home he had shared with a woman who wasn't who he thought she had been. He passed the nurse station and went for the elevators. He just couldn't be near Aerith knowing what he knew now.
"Cloud?" asked Vincent, noting the look on the other man's face. "Are you okay?"
The blond man just shook his head and didn't know if he could explain to his old friend what he had just found out about his wife. "I can't be here right now," he muttered.
"I'm going home. Do you want to have some drinks?" Vincent asked. Cloud just nodded and followed him out to the parking lot where they split and agreed to meet at Vincent's place. Though his friendship with Vincent had revolved around silence, he needed a friend at the moment. Now that he felt like everything around him was breaking apart.
………………
"Tifa, my love, don't kiss me like that unless you want to find yourself in a very compromising position," murmured Zack as he and Tifa got reacquainted with her couch.
"Don't you dare Zack. Denzel could come back at any moment," she said, trying to keep their touches as chaste as possible.
"What, you don't think that Denz hasn't done this with Marley already?" Zack asked her. Apparently, he asked the wrong thing because Tifa suddenly sat up and almost made their heads collide. "Oh, come on, Tifa! He's a teenage boy, there's not much else that he's thinking about."
"He's sixteen, Zack!" she said, voice a little frantic. The door suddenly opened and Denzel and Marlene walked into the house, stopping when they noticed Zack laying on the couch and Tifa sitting up on the edge, hair a little in disarray.
"Oh, gross. Do you guys have to do that on the couch that I like to sit on?" he asked his mother and her boyfriend. He froze at the look on Tifa's face. "What?"
"Have a seat you two," said Tifa, standing up and running her hands through her hair. Zack watched her curiously and sat up as well. He wanted to know what was on her mind. Tifa began to pace and let out a heavy sigh. "I know that this is a difficult time for kids your age," she started. "Your father may have had that talk with you already, Denzel, but I think we need to talk too."
Denzel had a sneaking suspicion as to where this was heading. "Mom, don't talk about this now," he said. Marlene gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head.
"You're at a time in you life when you want to try new things, and you start to feel differently towards each other," she said, thinking of the best of way of putting it. Zack put his head in his hands and almost burst into laughter.
Marlene blushed as she looked at her uncle. Her own father had refused to talk to her about sex yet, telling her that she would always be his baby and that he didn't want her 'tainted' by all that stuff yet. "But Tifa, we're not—" she started.
Tifa wrung her hands. "That's okay, but eventually you will want to, and it's perfectly normal of you do, just as long as you both know what you're doing and you use protection," she said.
Denzel felt like crawling under a rock and dying. Why was his mother doing this to him? "Mom, dad did have that conversation with me already. I know what it's about, and Marley says that though her dad refused to talk to her about it—"
"I did," finished Zack. "So you're embarrassing them for nothing, sweetheart," he said to Tifa.
"This is nothing to be embarrassed about," said Tifa firmly. "I just thought to tell you that you should be safe. I don't want to be a grandmother before you two graduate. I can't begin to tell you how hard it is to raise a baby when you're barely an adult yourself."
"We understand, mom, but I think Marlene and I would be safer hanging out at the mall or something," said Denzel, cheeks still a little pink as he took Marlene's hand and pulled her along towards the door. "I can still borrow the car, right?"
Tifa nodded and smiled a little bit. "Remember to take a moment to discuss your protection options!"
Denzel just shook his head and ushered his girlfriend out the door. "If Marlene breaks up with me because of this, I'll blame it on you, mom," he said before he shut the door.
Zack couldn't hold in his laughter any longer. Tifa turned to him and watched him until he couldn't even breathe. He clutched at his middle and that was why he didn't see the hand that swatted him over the head forcefully. "I don't think that that was a laughing matter," she said dryly.
"Oh, but Tifa my love, it was. I can't believe you did that to your son while Marley and I were here to see it," he said, still gasping a little for breath. "Thanks for the laugh, by the way."
"Yeah, well you just keep on laughing. Just for that, you're not getting anything today. Be it food or more," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and beginning to walk off. She nearly screeched when arms came around her and turned her around, almost pulling her off her feet.
Zack pressed her against his chest and looked into those deep, reddish eyes of hers. "You sure you don't want to rethink that, love?" he asked, lips moving over her neck, hands wandering to more private places.
Tifa let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes as he found a sensitive spot on her neck. She smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. "Maybe we should move this upstairs," she murmured. "I don't want Denzel and Marlene to come back in time to see a demonstration," she said with a faint giggle. "Besides, I like you better with your back flat on my bed," she murmured.
Zack kissed her and began to walk them up the stairs, Tifa still pressed against him. "We'll see who ends up on their back," he muttered before they made it into her bedroom and shut the door.
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A while later, they sat in silence, slowly sipping on vodka. "Are you going to share what has you all in a twist?" asked Vincent as he poured them another drink.
"Not yet." Cloud looked around and spotted a few pictures of Vincent with a little girl. She couldn't have been older than ten. "Where's your kid?"
Vincent frowned into his drink. "With Yuffie." He hadn't even realized that Cloud was talking about the girl.
"I didn't mean Oren, I was talking about the girl."
"Oh. She's sleeping over at a friend's house."
"Why did you automatically assume that I was talking about your boy?" Cloud asked suspiciously.
Vincent eyed him as Cloud poured them a little bit more. "I don't think I want to talk about that yet."
"Fine," said Cloud. A long while later, he was ready to speak, but his voice was a little slurred. "I found out Aerith has a kid with another man. A kid that she abandoned when he was a baby," he said, gulping down what was left in his glass. "I had her on a f-friggin' pedestal, and she wasn't who I thought she was." His vision blurred a little as he watched Vincent pouring the alcohol into their cups again. "I gave up Tifa to be with her. My son hates me because I fucking divorced his mother. Tifa hates me. Denzel hates me. I hate me… and Aerith. Maybe I should just fucking kill myself now. No one will miss me," he ranted, falling back onto the couch and wiping at his chin, where a little bit of tequila had trailed down.
"Y-you should make amends before killing yourself," muttered Vincent. "Make things right with your family. You can't just go and leave unfinished business."
"Yeah," replied Cloud. Thoughts of suicide fading away. He probably wouldn't even remember them once the hangover kicked in. "W-why did you leave Yuffie, man? The last time we talked, you even showed me the ring you were going to give her."
Vincent took a swig out of the bottle and winced as it burned a little. "Her father. He made me leave. Made me think I was worthless. I thought she would be happy without me, so I never looked back. Then I married Lucrecia, and she was already pregnant. She told me she had thought of making me believe that the girl was mine, but she told me the truth, after we were married," he said, taking another swig.
"Tough shit. Did she cheat on you?" asked Cloud.
Vincent shook his head. "We weren't in an exclusive relationship. Though I wasn't seeing anyone else, she was. I accepted the girl because I wanted to be with Lucrecia. I wanted to forget Yuffie."
"Did you accomplish it?"
"I don't know. I don't know what I feel when I look at Yuffie. Seeing her with another man makes me angry," he growled out softly.
Cloud grabbed the bottle and took a swig too. "Maybe…" he hiccupped slightly. "Maybe you should tell her that you still love her."
"But I don't."
"Denial isn't just a lake in Egypt," slurred Cloud.
"It's supposed to be denial isn't just a river in Egypt," muttered Vincent.
"Whatever," replied Cloud, his eyes drooping as he leaned against the couch, falling asleep within seconds.
Vincent blinked and looked around the room. It was already dark and instead of there being only one bottle of tequila, there was also one of whiskey and one of vodka joining it on the coffee table. He hadn't even been aware of how much alcohol they had both consumed. He stood and tilted sideways, blinking as he tried to find his way around his living room. He threw a blanket haphazardly over Cloud and slowly walked out of his home. He looked around and had enough sense to not go for his car, knowing how drunk he was. Instead he walked.
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Hehehe, drunk Vincent and Cloud are funny. So, how did I do with this chapter? More drama and angst for you all, and a little bit of humor. I can just picture Tifa having a motherly conversation like that, even though it embarrassed the hell out of the kids. Well, at least Tifa is now with Zack again, Cloud knows the truth, and where is Vincent going? Many of you may ask yourselves if that's all Cloud deserves. Honestly, feeling cheated is a big enough punishment. It hasn't happened to me, but I have seen what cheating does to people, especially those who are family. All the men in my family are jerks, I'll tell you that much, and I've seen what kind of damage lying and cheating can do.
Anyway, Lucrecia and Yuffie still haven't seen the last of each other yet, and Aerith won't make an appearance any time soon. Tifa and Zack have a few things coming up, as well as Vincent and Yuffie, so stay tuned for that. Thanks so much if you took the time to review the last chapter, I love to hear from you guys, even if it's only a few encouraging words, or curse words—as long as you're not cursing me out, hey feel free to express yourselves. Also, I tried my best to fix the typos and errors, but I'm sure there were a couple of more left in there. I'm already working on the next chapter so I hope everyone has a great week!
Joey