Chapter 4

For and Against

Some time later in the evening the two girls were joined by Cloud, and the three of them moved over to a corner booth, where they talked amiably, reminiscing, laughing, and catching up on the latest events in each others' lives. Their camaraderie was short-lived, however. Cloud was about to refill everyone's glasses, when he felt someone clasp a hand on his shoulder.

"'scuse me, ladies," Cid said, offering a smile that was just a little too sincere. "Me and the kid here are gonna conversate for a bit. Ain't that right, Cloud?"

Before he could raise any protests, the captain had wheeled him over to the far side of the room, seating the two of them at the bar, before pouring himself a long, slow drink, then another. Cloud sat there, waiting for Cid to get to whatever it was that he felt was so important to bring up all of a sudden. It was certainly unusual, the way the captain regarded him with a look of commiseration, the kind one might afford a convicted man walking his last mile. He took another swig of his drink, let out a long sigh. At last, he spoke.

"Look, no offense, kid, but are you out of your fucking mind?"

"..What do you mean?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"I mean, you and her?" Cid replied, gesturing back and forth between him and Yuffie. "I hate to break it to you, but it ain't never gonna work."

"How do you figure?"

"For starters, you're just too damn different," Cid said. "Ain't got a thing in common, from what I can tell."

Cloud knew that wasn't quite right, but he wasn't in the mood to try to correct Cid. He could tell that the captain had too much drink in him to be swayed by something as ineffectual as logic. Instead, he settled for agreeing to disagree. "Maybe that's not such a bad thing."

"Boy, you just don't wanna know.." Cid slurred, shaking his head and turning away while he poured himself yet another drink.

"The man's right," Barret said, taking the seat on Cloud's left. "It ain't gonna work out long-term, and you know it."

Cloud sighed. He had intended to go back and leave Cid to his potations, but before he knew it, he found himself flanked on either side, with Vincent, Reeve and Nanaki all within earshot. He glanced back over to the booth to see that his spot had been taken by Sierra. The three women were getting along great, by the look of it, talking, giggling and paying no mind to the congregation of men on the other side of the room. Realizing that escape was no longer an option, he resigned himself to the impromptu moratorium that seemed to be brewing, all the while wondering exactly when it was that his fellow Avalanche members had turned into a collective of busybodies.

"Look..." he replied. "No offense, but I don't see how this is any of your business."

"It's my bidness because I gotta put up with you two knuckleheads. Damn," Barret replied, as though this point were the most obvious thing in the world.

Cloud didn't bother to respond. He knew that it was pointless to argue when either of the two had reached this level of inebriation. He would have to simply endure the remainder of the harangue. He figured it would last about as long as the two of them could manage stay upright, which, given the rate at which they were consuming the libations on offer, wouldn't be much longer.

Barret went on, having emptied a tall mug of beer. "Look, tell you the truth, I don't much care who the hell you're knockin' boots with, but.."

This gave Cloud some pause. He wondered how it seemed so obvious to everyone how far he and Yuffie had taken their relationship. "How did you.."

"Ain't much of a surprise," Barret said. "You got that look about you."

Again, Cloud was left puzzled by the direction this conversation was taking. "What look?"

"Of two people who are, shall we say, more than well acquainted," Cid explained.

"Right. I mean, I know it's all fun and games right now, but y'all gotta think about the future, too," Barret said. "I mean, you two are still a little too young to be havin' kids."

"..Who said anything about having kids?" Cloud replied.

"Well, I ain't sayin' that's what y'all had in mind," Barret said, "but, you have been takin'... precautions, right?"

This question left him stumped. Looking back, it hadn't really occurred to either of them. Everything that had happened for the past few weeks had been the product of spontaneity. Now, his friend's reminder left him wondering whether or not he should be worried. Barret, seeing the confused look on his face, frowned and shook his head. "Shit, boy. Ain't you got any sense in that spiky head of yours?"

"Kids these days.." Cid muttered in assent.

"I think they make a cute couple," Reeve chimed in.

"Yeah, well... 'cute' wears thin after a while, you know?" Barret grumbled. "'specially for the rest of us."

Despite his resignation to the judgement of his peers, Cloud found himself growing frustrated with his friends' behaviour. "Again, I fail to understand how this is anyone else's business. So, was there anything else, or are you guys done weighing in on my love life?"

"Naw, I think that's about it," Barret said, gulping down his second mug of beer.

"You sure?" Cloud asked. "How about you, Red? You feel like throwing in your two cents?"

"I have no stake or interest in whom you choose to mate with," Nanaki replied, wandering off. Evidently, the crimson beast had no desire to be made part of the conversation, something for which Cloud was thankful. That only left the solitary figure at the far end of the bar.

"Vincent?"

The gunman held his glass still for a moment, speaking without turning to look at the rest of the group.

"Just be cautious."

'Cryptic as ever', Cloud thought. He switched seats, moving closer to the former Turk and away from the increasingly drunken duo of Cid and Barret. Though he seemed reluctant to join the conversation, it seemed like he might have something more sensible to say. "Cautious, huh?"

"Yes," Vincent replied.

"How so?"

Vincent set his drink down and looked him in the eye. "What I'm trying to say is that this relationship, if you're serious about pursuing it, won't be all pleasantries. You're not simply dating some random stranger. Her friendly manner might cause us all to forget from time to time, but she is still the heir to an empire. That's not a responsibility to be taken lightly. I think you both know that."

Cloud nodded, waiting for Vincent to continue.

"As much as she resists the idea, sooner or later she's going to have to accept that responsibility. And when she does, she'll need you to stand by her. The political situation in Wutai is volatile right now, to say the least."

"I know," Cloud replied. "But I don't think she's going back home any time soon."

"Why not?" Vincent asked.

"She... has her reasons to stay away," Cloud replied.

It did not take Vincent long to figure out what his friend was telling him. "Reasons she has not shared with you."

Cloud shook his head. "Not yet."

"Hmmm. Curious.." Vincent replied, looking off into the distance and taking a sip of his drink. "In any case, these are concerns for another day. But I ask you to bear them in mind, nonetheless. The future and happiness of a great many people are at stake, not just your own."

"You're saying you think it's a bad idea?" Cloud asked.

Vincent slowly shook his head. "On the contrary. From what I can tell, you two seem to bring out the best in each other. But what I am saying is that this relationship, if you decide to pursue it further, won't be just about the two of you. It would be wise to keep that in mind."

With that, Vincent rose from his seat. As he did, he placed a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Call it giving a good friend fair warning."

He gave a nod to the others, signalling that he was retiring for the night.

"..Gentlemen."

Later still, as the celebrations were winding down, Cloud walked back over to the girls' booth, only to find Yuffie resting her head on the table. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"I think our little princess here has had one too many," Sierra said, reaching over to rub the back of Yuffie's head.

"..I'm fine," Yuffie muttered weakly in protest.

"Come on. You can barely lift your head off the table," Tifa said. "Cloud, why don't you take her upstairs? I'll bring some fresh bed sheets over in a minute."

"All right," Cloud nodded. He reached down, prying Yuffie away from the table, before lifting her up into his arms. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

"..rather have bottle in fronta me than a frontal lobotomy..." Yuffie muttered, half-asleep.

"I'm sure you would, dear," Sierra replied, giggling. "Good night."

"'night," Cloud replied as he carried her upstairs.

Past midnight, the umbra of the house had become all but impenetrable, thanks to the original architect's insistence on 'natural lighting'. Cloud made his way through the upstairs corridor by ways of the sparse lamplight available to him, which was only marginally better than total darkness. After a couple of false turns, he found his way back to his and Yuffie's room, nearly bumping into someone as he turned the corner.

"Oh. Cloud.." Tifa said.

"Hey, Teef," he greeted her, noting the set of fresh towels in her hands. No doubt she was doing the last rounds for the night, making sure everyone had everything they needed. They stood there in the corridor for a moment, the first time they had been alone since their reunion, he realized.

"I was just heading to bed," Tifa said. "You?"

"The same," he replied.

Tifa glanced sideways, spying Yuffie through the half-open door. She appeared to be sound asleep, huddled underneath the warm covers. "Is she all right?"

"Yeah, I think she just had a bit too much," Cloud said.

"Sorry about that," Tifa said. "I guess Sierra and I could have done a better job playing the chaperone."

"Don't worry about it," Cloud said. "She might not know how to pace herself, but she rarely makes the same mistake twice."

Tifa gave a slight chuckle at this. "Right... that's good."

Another moment passed before either of them spoke up again. It occurred to Cloud that Tifa had opted to put them up in a room with one bed, rather than two. If that didn't represent a tacit approval of their relationship on her part, he didn't know what would. Still, he sensed that she still had some reservations about the whole thing, and it wasn't hard to figure out why.

His instincts turned out to be right, as she stopped him before he could wander off. "Listen.." she began. "There's something I wanted to say to you."

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"First of all, I wanted to tell you the same thing I told her," Tifa said. "I'm happy for you two. I really am. But I need to say something else to you, too, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way."

She moved in closer, looking him in the eye before she spoke again. "You'd better be serious about her. Because if you're not... then I think it's best if you break this off, sooner rather than later. If things ended between you two the way they.."

She trailed off, pausing for a moment, weighing her words with care before continuing. "If they ended badly... she'd probably shrug it off as being nothing, but I know it'd really hurt her. And I can't have that. I just want you to keep that in mind."

"I understand," Cloud said. "It's fair that you think that, but you don't have to worry about me."

"Good," Tifa replied, allowing herself a small smile, looking as though she had finally heaved a great weight off her shoulders. "That's good."

She made to leave, but Cloud stopped her for a moment, wanting to get something off his chest, as well. "Tifa... I know it's a little late, but for what it's worth... I'm sorry about the way things ended between us."

"It hasn't ended," Tifa replied. "We're still friends, right?"

Cloud nodded, offering one of his rare smiles in reply.

"You don't have to apologize," Tifa said. "We were both at fault. But promise me you'll treat her right."

"I will," Cloud said. "I promise."

Satisfied with the outcome of their conversation, she turned and walked off down the corridor, turning back just as he was entering his room. "Cloud?" she said, causing him to pause in the doorway.

"It's good to have you back," she said, folding her hands behind her back. "...Well, good night."

"Good night," he replied, shutting the door. He looked over at where Yuffie lay, half-asleep. She was resting, although not very peacefully, it seemed to him. Still, he thought, she would be fine the morning after, having learned her lesson.

He sat down on the opposite side of the bed, leaning over and brushing a hand against her forehead. She groaned, wincing at his touch, and made some half-hearted attempts to bat his hand away. "You okay?" he asked.

"Ugh... never again," she replied.

"You need to learn to slow it down," Cloud said.

"You need to learn to shove it," Yuffie muttered, pressing a pillow against her head. Cloud chuckled at her remark. He undressed, slipping under the covers next to her. She turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his waist, nestling her head underneath his chin. "G'night," she whispered. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, running his fingers idly through her locks, soothing her headache. A few moments later, she was asleep.

He remained awake a while longer, still pondering the events of the day. It was odd, the way everyone seemed compelled to weigh in on their relationship, whether pro or contra. But at least he knew where they all stood. In the end, however, there was only one person whose opinion truly mattered to him. And despite his assurances to his childhood friend, he still didn't know where it was all headed. It was a pleasant surprise to both of them, to be sure, but there was still no telling how it might all end. For now, though, he was content to hold her close, enjoying the warmth that they shared.

All told, being reunited like this could only mark the beginning of better times. And with it came the knowledge that they could finally put the past behind them, and look forward to the future.

To a new day.