FFVII – Eyes like nightfall – CH12 That feeling.

The silence between them was almost unbearable. Cloud wrinkled his nose, unsure of whether or not Tifa was angry at him for making her sleep in his room. "Are you cross?"

"Hmm?"

"At me. Are you cross?"

"No."

The simple answer was calm and quiet, barely audible to the normal ear, but to Cloud's superior senses, it was crystal clear. His face split into a huge smile and he pulled Tifa into a crushing, spontaneous hug. "This doesn't mean I've forgiven you!" She gasped when Cloud let her go. "And you can't just let me sleep in your bed every time you upset me..."

She blushed at the sound of her own words and hung her head, letting her hair fall in front of her face as Cloud's arms wrapped round her again in a gentler, longer hug. Before he whispered, "That's the second time you've slept in my bed, isn't it Tifa."

Wrenching herself away from him she stared in horror at the smirk on his face. How did he know? She was sure he'd been away that night. Had one of the kids told him? He laughed lightly at her expression and shook his head before standing up, grabbing some clean clothing and disappearing into the bathroom, leaving Tifa kneeling by his bed.

From that point on, his life seemed to be getting steadily better and he was even allowed to take his meals at the table with everyone else, although he still received the odd bit of oatmeal for good measure. "What did you do?" Denzel asked one morning as a full breakfast slid into place in front of Cloud. Cloud shrugged and said, his mouth full of egg, "Nothing much."

His working hours got longer over the week as summer got closer and once or twice he found himself getting through the front door in the small hours of the next morning. Tifa would fold her arms over her chest in an unimpressed manner, but didn't scold him. Not once.


Since the morning she'd woken up in his bed, Tifa had been bugged by this odd feeling. It didn't matter what Cloud was doing, or where he was, she felt attracted to him. As though she was in orbit and he was her centre of gravity. Everything she thought about seemed to have something to do with Cloud. Not that she minded at all, it just made it very difficult to concentrate on things, and keeping up the anger was getting harder by the minute. She only hoped he didn't do anything outlandish that caused her resolve to break. Like last time...

Although some things still annoyed her, like the mud that was constantly being trailed round the place on the bottom of a massive pair of steel-toe-capped boots, she had to admit, Cloud was being a lot better. She hated how he was so quiet some times; she hoped her 'silent treatment' was teaching him something. Honestly, she didn't know how he did it, remaining all morose and taciturn all the time without even breaking down...

Just seeing the look on Marlene's face when she ignored them was almost enough to have Tifa cuddling the little girl and begging for her forgiveness. But this was the only way Cloud was going to learn, and if she'd done that, nothing will have changed.

Just then, Tifa sloshed some of the scolding hot soup she had been cooking over her hand. Hissing in pain she shoved her hand into the sink and turned on the taps. She was watching the skin turn a bright shade of red when Cloud appeared behind her.

"Are you alright?"

Tifa nodded, her face flushing red at his closeness. His arms seemed disembodied as they reached round her and took her injured hand delicately by the wrist, turning it this way and that to inspect the burn. "You'll need to put something on that," He murmured, the sound close and warm in her ear. "Stop it getting infected."

Tifa nodded again. This was something of a first, it was usually Cloud who'd hurt himself by way of being careless, not the other way around. Although secretly she didn't mind him looking after her so gently, even if she was supposed to be cross with him. He mumbled something illiterately above her head; his hands guiding hers back under the cold rush of water from the tap.

Then he was gone, grabbing his coat and disappearing out the door before Tifa had even turned round. Now he was gone her back felt strangely cold. She stared listlessly into the gush of water surging soothingly over her sore, enflamed hand, still tingling from where Cloud's fingers had held her. She was getting that feeling again, the one that said 'What if... You were more than simply friends?'


When Cloud returned to seventh heaven it was kick out time and Tifa was just bussing the last few tables, her injured hand clasping tight to the box she braced on her hip.

Striding across to her, he took the object from her hands, bussed the last few tables then firmly announced that this was now closing time and could everyone please finish their drinks within a reasonable timeframe. Tifa watched in silence as the last of her customers left the bar and Cloud shut and bolted the door after them.

Without even bothering to take off his coat, he took Tifa's good hand and lead her to the kitchen, seating her at the table and placing a bottle of something down in front of her. "Egg yolk, rose water and turpentine," he explained, turning to fetch a bowl and some kitchen towel, "Paré's finest. Not easy stuff to come by."

They sat in silence then as Cloud unbandaged Tifa's hand, taking care not to pull the fabric or stress the skin with too much of his Mako given strength. The liquid was cold and sticky as it ran in thick rivulets over her hand. Wonderfully chill, it had an almost immediate effect, soothing her raw skin to the point where she sighed comfortably, prompting a lazy grin form Cloud.

"Cloud..." She mumbled as he continued to pour the liquid from the bottle.

"Hmm..."

"I hope..." she started, turning a delicate shade of beetroot, "That you've learnt something from this?"

"Mhmm." Tifa's heart almost leapt at the confirmation, but she kept her expression as calm as she could reasonably manage. "That this stuff, plus the fuel to get there and back again, just cost me near half a week's wages..."

Cloud watched, half amused, as Tifa's face settled into a distinctly unimpressed frown, her lips pursing in tell-tale annoyance at his lack of a satisfactory answer. He chuckled, "I'm sorry I upset you Tifa."

She lowered her eyes in non-acceptance and he laughed softly, turning the now empty bottle right-side-up and screwing the cap on. "I know sometimes I'm... Distant..."

His eyes flitted to her for a fraction of a second before he gently began to dry her hand off with the kitchen towel. "But I do try, it's just that often I don't have anything to say or..." He paused in his ministrations to look Tifa pointedly in the face. "Or I just can't think of the words."

Tifa nodded, getting up and taking the bowlful of 'Paré's finest' to the sink. "Then I'm also sorry for subjecting you to a cold shoulder."

Cloud watched her silently as she poured the substance down the drain and washed and dried the bowl, talking all the while. "I was hoping it might have been teaching you how hurtful it is to be ignored by someone. It's not easy being left behind while you drive away into the distance. I haven't seen outside of Edge in six months Cloud. And you know what, you're the only reason I'm alone here all day long, slaving away behind a bar, serving drinks and food to total strangers while you disappear for weeks on end becoming more and more of a stranger to me every day!"

"I think of you."

Tifa stopped, turning round to face him with the owl in her hands. "That's not the point Cloud, is it? It doesn't matter how much you think about things. If you never act on those thoughts, then what's the point in thinking them?"

There was silence between them again. Tifa sighed and turned round, stretching to put the bowl on a shelf. Some things, she guessed would just never change. Then the scrape of a chair and suddenly she was being spun round, her squeak of surprise cut short as Cloud's lips met hers in a kiss that left her breathless. Cloud's cheeks sported the faintest of flushes. "There," He breathed, "Was that enough of an action for you?"

Speechless and gasping for breath, Tifa nodded. She was alarmed by his reaction, but oddly pleased with the outcome. Her silent treatment might not have changed him in the way she'd intended, but she supposed she could live with this new development.


A/N: Longest chapter so far =) I thought I might just mix things up a bit again, since this is under the romance catagory, it ought to have some romance in it =P reviews are greatly appreciated and they all get read and thought about so keep them coming =D Next chapter is gonna be another squimish one lol.