Title: The Delivery Service
Rated: M (Violence, language, possible sexual situations)
Pairing: Definite Cloud x Tifa. Just might take some time.
Summary: "What are you, exactly?"
Cloud Strife looked down at the man, his crew standing behind him. He extended a hand, helping the wounded one up.
"We're a delivery service."
A/N: I promised the chapter coming up would not be too long of a wait, and I was not wrong! Here you go, and I am so excited to get the next story in this little series out- it has all to do with a certain Valentine!
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE PREPARATIONS
Reeve knew it was better to just let some things go. He decided to go ahead with the party; it was a good PR move. He decided that the fourteen piece band was acceptable; as were the tables of food and all the lush chairs so the guests could sit. He approved of the twinkling white lights being wrapped around every surface the decorators could get their hands on; plus the new fountain with the figures of two men shaking hands was exquisite.
Then the two huge frozen swans came in. Right after, the Wutainise traditional dancers came in and demanded a dressing room so they could relax between shows. This was quickly followed by the sword swallowers, live peacocks (for the garden, as it was explained to him) and a champagne fountain.
Reeve could just imagine the bill sitting on his desk. It would have a lot of zeros in it. A headache began to form and he just prayed that the event would go smoothly enough and quickly enough so he could get back to work. This was not one of those events he was accustomed too.
He quickly walked through the main banquet hall, trying to avoid the numerous workers running about. A tall man was behind a bar, setting up delicate looking wine glasses, and he looked up and saw Reeve heading towards him.
"May I help you, sir?" the bartender asked, recognizing who was at the bar immediately.
"Please tell me we have purchased casks of whiskey for tonight." Reeve said, leaning over the bar top.
The bartender shifted in his spot. "Well, not... casks, but sir, I do have plenty of whiskey."
"Good."
"I can set aside a bottle just for you, sir."
Reeve sighed. "You are a good man. Remind me to tip you handsomely later."
Reeve pushed off the bar and walked back towards the entrance. He looked around and saw workers place centerpieces- huge, colorful flowers in baskets- on all the tables. People were high up on ladders, hanging strings of lights and flowers off the ceiling.
"This place is looking ridiculous." He murmured, and left to go home.
Barret fussed with the bow tie. He did not even know why he said yes to these type of things; but as his assistant, Drew, insisted that he go through the whole shebang. 'It was good for networking', or so he said. Then that damn kid would smile at him, said it would be good for business; then Barret would be in a monkey suit.
If it would only fit.
Barret looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. It had been over a year since he last had to wear this suit, and in the past year of desk work and hardly any exercise, he had gain some pounds. He thought about wearing his only other suit, but it was too worn out and had some questionable stains on it. He patted his stomach, ripped off the foolish bow tie and cursed at himself.
"G'dammit man, you need to fix yerself." he mumbled.
After ridding himself of the suit he went out to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of rye. He drank it down in one gulp and tossed the glass in the sink.
"Eh... time to go shopping." He sighed deeply again and grabbed his wallet.
For four years, Cloud Strife had endured the worse torture imaginable. Horrible nightmares, painful injections; years of confusion and having it all end with the world partially destroyed and missing people who should not have been missing. He had buried too many loved ones. He had been the reason many loved ones would not return home. Yet, he remained. He persevered. He learned that he could handle what life threw him his way.
Then he agreed to go shopping with Tifa.
Cloud could not explain why, but it felt like his whole body was hurting from the experience. He walked all around the city, sat in uncomfortable chairs, watching Tifa try on dress after dress. There was even the pain of having to enter the dressing room to help his friend zip up some dresses- and if he thought the sight of her soft pale flesh would help improve his day, he was sorely mistaken. In more ways than one.
After four hours of walking around, avoiding effeminate men who wanted to dress him, the two friends found themselves in a small boutique. Cloud walked in and immediately felt uncomfortable- it was too warm, too cramped and the lady behind the counter looked way too eager to help them. Tifa let the older woman whisk her away and Cloud went to sit on the firm leather chair provided.
He sighed and tried to get comfortable, enjoying a moment of silence. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"Oh my dear, this would look stunning on you. This color goes well with your complexion!" The sales lady cooed, ushering Tifa into a dressing room.
Tifa fumbled about in the tiny space for a few minutes, then pulled the curtain back. She stepped out of the dressing room and turned to look over at Cloud.
Hearing that she had left the safety of the curtain, Cloud sighed deeply, then opened his eyes to look at her.
His whole body went rigid. The air left his lungs. He could not focus on anything else- not the sales lady exclaiming that Tifa was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen, not Tifa asking nervously if the dress was okay- for suddenly, there was a goddess standing right in front of him.
A dark green material hugged Tifa's muscular body tightly. It was an emerald green chiffon gown, with a top cut into a pattern of flowers exposing small glimpses of her skin. A sheer green lace material covered the whole dress, spreading out to the ground, making Tifa seem more delicate than Cloud ever remembered.
"I have the most beautiful heels to go with that dress. My darling, you look radiant! You simply must purchase this gown, I'll even give you a discount..." the sales lady dithered on, circling around Tifa, handing her shoes and telling her to wear her hair up with the dress.
"What do you think, Cloud?" Tifa asked, causing Cloud to startle out of his reverie. He blushed.
"Well, you are gorgeous my dear, no doubt about that! Right, young man?" The attendant said, carefully unpinning the price tag from the sleeve of the dress.
Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Yeah! Tifa, you look..." He racked his head for an adjective. Beautiful? Amazing? The most wonderful thing I had ever seen? "...pretty."
The whole store seemed to have gone quiet. Even the noise outside on the street seemed to stop. Both Tifa and the sales lady stared at Cloud for a moment.
Then Tifa smiled. "Thank you, Cloud."
Then the world seemed to breath again and continued on like normal. The sales lady asked Tifa to change so she could put the dress in a bag for her, and went to go ring her up. Cloud absentmindedly paid for the dress, much to Tifa's chagrin. He did not mean to embarrass her, he just wanted to speed up the process so he could leave the store.
"Pay me back when we get home." Cloud said, then his cheeks turned red. That sounded a lot dirtier than he intended, but he knew that Tifa would understand what he meant.
They made their way back home, Tifa talking about digging his old suit out of the closet and cleaning it before the event, with Cloud just agreeing with what ever she was saying. He could not get the image of Tifa in that dress out of his mind.
"Tifa, I..." Cloud interrupted her, not even knowing what she was talking about, "I thought the dress really suited you. I mean, you looked really nice in it."
Tifa's cheeks reddened slightly, but her smile was wide. "Thank you, Cloud."
The two continued to walk home, to get ready for the party the next night.
Reeve had to admit to himself that the hall looked stunning, now that it was all put together. It was a grand display of wealth and class and Reeve knew that it was all for appearance only.
He straightened his dark blue robes and smoothed his long hair back. Exiting the hall, he walked down a corridor towards the elevator, stopping at a mirror posted on the wall. His beard was trimmed neatly, his dark hair slicked back with minimal product. Reeve nodded his approval, though he knew he would pale in comparison to his date.
Suddenly, he jumped. He looked down at the watch on his wrist and realized that he should have left ten minutes before to pick up his companion. Reeve swore lightly and rushed to the elevator, to the car, and to Seventh Heaven. In the car, he had a small token of appreciation for his friend, Tifa Lockhart. A small silver necklace, with a small star pendant adorning it. He smiled at the gift. He wanted it to be a simple gesture, but a sentimental one- they were friends, after all.
Taking a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart, Reeve exited the car and walked up the path to the front of the bar. A 'CLOSED' sign hung on the door. He turned around the corner on the wrap-around porch and headed towards the door that led to the actual residence.
Cloud answered the knocks on the door, dressed in tight fitting black slack and a white button down shirt. A smart black tie hung around his neck; though Reeve could see that Cloud kept the Fenrir earring in his ear. A black blazer was held in his hand. Reeve had to admit, he looked distinguished when dressed up- a rare sight in itself.
"Good evening, Cloud." Reeve greeted, and held out his hand. He smiled at his friend.
Cloud, who usually replied with a smile of his own, was stoic tonight. He grasped Reeve's hand a little too firmly and shook it quickly. "Evening."
Cloud stepped back into the kitchen, leaving Reeve standing alone in the doorway. The man took the hint and stepped into the warm home, closing the door behind him.
"How are you Cloud?" Reeve asked. "Would you like a ride to headquarters?"
"Fine. No thank you. I'll take Fenrir." Cloud answered, pulling on his blazer. "Tifa should be ready. Let me go see."
"Is... everything alright?" Reeve asked. He noticed the rather curt tone in the other man's voice.
Cloud sighed and closed his eyes briefly. It seemed like he was mentally preparing himself. "Yes. I'm sorry. I just don't like big crowds, but Tifa told me I had to go. Said it would be a great favor for you."
Reeve nodded. "It will be. I also invited all of you so I could possibly have some fun, as well. The diplomats can be rather dry at times." He chuckled, and was successful in making Cloud relax a bit more.
"Everyone else will be there?" Cloud asked. "Even Vincent?"
Reeve shrugged his shoulders. "I extended the invitation. Truthfully, if he does show up, I think I would faint in shock."
"I'll try to hold you up." A feminine voice answered.
Both men's head turned towards Tifa, who was standing in the doorway. Reeve gasped audibly; his mouth turning dry. She was brilliant in her emerald gown; complete with a black shawl, green pumps, and her long brown hair was up in a braided knot on top of her head. His already beating heart threatened to jump out of his chest.
"You look wonderful." He complimented. Then he remembered the small gift he had, and walked forward, handing it to her. "This is for you, Tifa. Thank you for accompanying me tonight."
The door that led to the garage slammed shut and was followed by the roar of a motorcycle. The noise surprised the two of them; it seemed uncharacteristic of Cloud to act in such a manner. However, Tifa broke that uncomfortable silence by laying a hand on Reeve's arm and making him look at her.
"Your welcome, Reeve. But you didn't have to get me anything." Tifa said, but opened up the small box anyway. "Though it would be rude of me to not accept a gift!" She joked, then went quiet when she saw the present.
"I remember you telling me that you still wished on shooting stars." Reeve said, gently taking the necklace from Tifa. He walked behind her and placed the gift around her neck, clasping the necklace. "So I caught one to give to you."
Tifa recalled that moment. A few months before, Reeve had come to visit. It was rare when he had a day when he did not have to work, so he came to see some friends and spend some quality time with Marlene- who always managed to have a sophisticated tea party with him. Tifa recalled that Reeve wore a simple sweater and worn blue jeans, a rare sight to see from the man who seemed to live in formal attire- and that he had filled out those jeans quite nicely.
It was a relaxing Sunday afternoon. The bar was closed on Sundays, so the three of them - Cloud, Tifa and Reeve- had gone up to the roof to sit and talk. They talked for hours, well into the night. Cloud left for a few minutes to take a phone call, leaving the two alone.
A star flashed in the sky. "You know, when I was little, I used to wish on falling stars." Tifa said, leaning into Reeve's side.
Reeve smiled. "I believe all children do that."
"Yeah... but I still do." Tifa smiled shyly, looking very pretty in the moonlight. Reeve felt his heart thump in his throat and prayed that she did not notice. "Whenever I see one. I can't help myself."
Reeve could not keep his eyes off of her profile. She turned and looked up at him. She was still smiling. "I think that is an admirable thing to do."
Tifa fingered the necklace and smiled. It was a very sweet gesture. "Thank you Reeve. I love it."
Reeve stepped to her side and held out his arm. "Shall we?"
Tifa took hold of him. "We shall."
