I do not own Final Fantasy VII.

Twisted Fate

Chapter XIII: She Hits Back

Tifa stared wide-eyed at the ceiling. Cloud was panting heavily beside her, exhausted. She clutched the comforter over her naked body as if afraid he would see what has already been seen. Not daring to look at him, she kept her eyes pinned to the shadows cast by the midday sun.

"That was so damn good…" He rolled over on top of her, grabbing her chin and obliging her to look at him, "…I guess you are different now."

Tifa forced her cheek to him as he tried to kiss her again.

"What's wrong, Baby?" His voice was sickly sweet. She shuddered with repulsion as he dragged his wet tongue across her ear.

"I didn't think it was so good." She breathed, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the bedcovers.

"What didn't you like?"

"Oh, let me see…Everything!" Tifa jabbed her knee into his stomach, forcing him off of her. "Sorry, Cloud, but I don't really care for sloppy wet everything, or slapping, or the feeling of having my nipples damn near bitten off!"

"You never complained before." He rubbed his stomach beneath the covers, trying to conceal the fact that she'd hurt him.

"Before? This is the first time we've done it like that." She sneered, "You must have me confused with your other girlfriend. She must be into that sort of thing."

Dragging the covers off the bed, Tifa hid beneath them as she sought out her clothes. Cloud grabbed the comforter and yanked it off of her, leaving her naked before him. Enjoying the way her hands automatically covered herself, he took in her beauty. While she wasn't nearly as beautiful as Sephiroth, there was something else about her that left a pleasant twist in his stomach.

"I'm into that kind of thing." Cloud clarified, standing. "I've always liked my partners submissive…But you're proving a fun challenge.

"A challenge?"

"You're not afraid to talk back to me or to raise your hand to me."

"Why should I be?" She quickly shrugged on her clothes, though she still felt exposed.

"You always were before. You're always afraid I'm gonna hit you, and you're right to think so."

"Whatever, Cloud. You've never hit me before and you never will; you're not the type to do so."

Before she realized what had happened, Tifa found herself stumbling backward, clutching the side of her jaw. The pain raced up into her head and down her neck into her back. Her brain buzzed and her eyes crossed.

"You really think I won't hit you?" Fury flared up in Cloud's body once more and he punched her again. "I'll fuck you up you little bitch!"

Tifa blocked his strikes the best she could as she struggled for her gloves. Though they were close by on her nightstand, it was a battle just to reach them. Finally sliding one on, she delivered a sharp uppercut to his chin and a jab to his solar plexus.

Cloud reeled back, stunned. She was powerful enough without her gloves to hurt him, but with them, she was ten times stronger than he was. Within seconds, she had flattened him on the floor, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"What the hell did you do?" He squeaked.

"You hit me, I hit back." Tifa snarled as she ran out of the room.

A grin slid across Cloud's bloodied mouth, "Now, that's a woman…"

Cloud found Tifa downstairs, staring into the mirror behind the bar. He watched her for a moment as strange sensations eddied around inside of him. Anger, disgust, and hatred loomed in his heart, but as did guilt, pain, desire, and something else that he couldn't quite name. Where was it all coming from? Ever since he'd first seen Tifa, it sat there nagging in his gut, that feeling…

Feeling her arms prickle with goosebumps, Tifa spun around.

"What are you doing here?" She breathed, backing up.

"Am I supposed to just stay in that room?" Cloud took a step forward.

"I guess not…" Tifa shook off the eerie sensation rolling up her back and she reached for a frying pan. She could hit him with it…put him out of her misery. After all, she was certain that he was not her Cloud. Wasn't she? She suddenly dropped it on the stove and promptly poured a capful of oil into it.

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking dinner. We haven't eaten all day."

Cloud glanced at the clock, "It's only 3 PM."

"The bar opens in three hours; I don't have time to cook in the evenings, you know that."

"Right." Cloud eyed the welt on her jaw and her swollen cheekbone. "Are you really going to let people see you? Looking like that?"

"Well, whose fault is that?"

"Yours."

"Oh, so I punched myself, did I?"

"You tried to act all big. Bowing up to me gets you punished. You want me to do it again?" He balled up his fist.

She raised her hand – still wearing her gloves – like a claw, "Do you want to keep your dick?"

He relaxed, a grin playing at his lips, "Do you realize how sexy you are?"

"I must not be that sexy at all; you said you're cheating on me."

"That was before I realized it myself."

"So what? Now you're gonna say that I'm the only one for you? I kind of thought that after all we'd been through together that you'd have come that decision already." She slammed a pork chop onto the frying pan.

"Yes." He said simply, earning a glare from her. "I should have. I should have appreciated you more."

"Well, it's too late for that." Tifa took in a deep breath and released it heavily from her mouth, "I thought you loved me, Cloud. I thought…maybe one day…we were gonna get married. We've been through things together that other people can't even imagine in their wildest dreams…And for you to go and treat me the way you've treated me today…There's no way I'm going to marry you…ever." She finally was able to look him in the eye, "In the morning, you're going to pack up your stuff and you're going to leave."

"Tifa…" He tried to reach for her hand.

"Don't. There's nothing you can say to change it."

"Cloud's leaving?" A soft voice echoed from the doorway.

Tifa' heart sank, "Denzel…"

Cloud turned around, disgust welling in his gut, "Whose the kid?"

"I'm Denzel. Don't you recognize me?" His eyes watered, but he blinked away the urge to cry.

Cloud tossed an irritated glance at Tifa, "You've gotta kid?"

"That's right, I've got a kid. You can forget about taking him with you."

"Good, 'cause I hate kids."

Tifa's blood instantly sizzled in her veins, "Get out! Get out right now! Forget about having any dinner!" She threw the skillet at him, bubbling oil and all.

After Cloud vacated the room, Denzel stared in disbelief at where he had sat, the feeling of rejection settling horribly into his stomach.

"Tifa?"

"Denzel, hand me the phone. I'm ordering dinner."

Tifa sat quietly before the lonely slice of pizza on her plate. The children both stared at their own plates, not saying anything. The scene from earlier played back behind Denzel's eyes and Marlene had heard the commotion; the tension suffocated them.

"Is Cloud really leaving?" Marlene finally asked, breaking the deafening silence.

"Yes, sweetie. He has to go away." Tifa's stomach quaked.

"Why?"

She shoved her plate away, "It's because Cloud did something very bad to me. He um…" She sought out a delicate way to phrase it, "He has another girlfriend, and…well, he wants to go away."

"That's not all is it? He hit you too." Denzel pointed out the bruises on Tifa's cheek.

"Don't mention this to anyone, especially Barret."

"But, Cloud can't get away with it!"

"Denzel please! Please, honey, it's not for you to worry about. I can handle this myself, just don't say anything."

"Tifa? Why is Cloud suddenly bad?" Marlene said, poking at the cold cheese on her pizza.

"I don't know, but's going to be alright." She sniffed back her tears, not wanting to waste them on someone who didn't deserve them.

After Tifa closed her bar that night, she paused as she looked around the room. The cleanup had been easy but the service hadn't been. No one was ornery or antagonizing that night, but they silently stared at her swollen face. It seemed like it had gotten worse from when he first struck her. She'd tried to cover the bruises with makeup but that just made it that much more obvious it wasn't an accident.

Heading up to her room, she paused at Cloud's door. A part of her wanted to forget about what happened that day and try to move on, she wanted to forgive him and resist sacrificing all the good times because of one bad day.

But she couldn't let this slide. She had to be strong. She kept reminding herself that he'd confessed to being with another woman for a while now, that he'd lied about where he'd been that night, that he'd abused her – both physically and sexually, and he said he hated children to top it all off.

"I don't know who you are, but you're not my Cloud." She said at the door, halfway hoping that he'd heard it. "I want you gone. I want my Cloud to come back."

After he was certain she was a sleep, Cloud crept into Tifa's room. He watched her quietly as she slept, careful not wake her. She looked incredible like that; there was something about her face he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"You're so beautiful, Tifa," he whispered breathily, "I don't know why, but the thought of never seeing you again breaks my heart. I've never felt this way before…I don't like being tied down, I don't like not having options. But for some reason, I feel like I really could spend my life with you and never want anyone else."

"Then why did you hurt me?" Tifa murmured. Her suddenly speaking up startled him, he paused a moment before replying. Her breath was heavy and she said nothing more. She was definitely still asleep. Had he somehow affected her dreams?

"I don't know. I just…got so angry."

"Why are you angry? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing. It's not you, it's me. It's this place, it's…I don't know. I don't even know what I'm trying to say. I'm not even sure why I'm trying to apologize. I feel like there are two different souls inside of me, both fighting for control."

"I miss you, Cloud."

"I miss you too, Tiffan."