About Time, Too

"Doesn't change much," he heard her say weakly. Cloud looked at Lightning with a furrowed brow.

"It doesn't?"

When she turned around, he saw her smile just like any other day, as if they were having one of their normal conversations under normal circumstances. However, Lightning's damp eyes betrayed her as they brightly glistened in the moonlight. "No. It's not like you really…"

Even when she couldn't finish her sentence, Cloud knew the ending all too easily. It was what he worked so hard for her to say…for it was hard to admit it himself. For the past two years, he could never put his feelings into words; he didn't deserve the right to voice his desires, not after what he let Aerith and Zack endure.

But if Lightning felt the same, he didn't have to feel guilty about loving her from the moment she showed him her true colors. With every passing day, thinking of her put a smile on his face and a warm fire in his heart. Cloud fought the urge to just grab hold of her and keep her in his arms, and it seemed it was in his nature to deny his feelings, what with the guilty despair that remained in his heart.

The moment everything finally dawned on him, Lightning had already retreated back into the hotel room and headed to the door. Only one thought ran through his head: he didn't want to let her go. Cloud took long strides to grab her wrist and spin her around, and the first thing he noticed were her damp confused eyes. Their pale aqua shade made her visage all the more captivating; they expressed her strong fortitude and vulnerability all at once, which was one of the many things that drew him to Lightning in the first place.

He couldn't think anymore, and before he realized what he had done, Cloud reached his face to hers and melded their lips together. His other arm found its way around her waist while his tongue managed to slip in and brush against the top of hers. As she wriggled her arms to try and shove against his chest, he tightened his hold on her; the hand that held her wrist moved to angle her head upward, and he waited until her lips finally moved in synchronization with his to let it go.

However, Lightning suddenly pushed him back with all her might, a hand flying to her lips as she stared at him with frantic eyes. "It's…It's a lie—"

"It's not a lie," Cloud assured with ragged breaths. When his words seemed like jumble to her ears, he scowled as he faced reality: all his efforts were confusing Lightning, rather than making his feelings clear for her to see. "Lightning, I'm sorry that I wasn't straightforward about any of it. I was confused myself with what I was really feeling."

Her mind was in an unending spiral. Sighing, Cloud gathered her hand into his, causing her to look at them with a whirlwind of emotions.

"But after today, it's clear now. I want you here. I need you here." With a light tug, he drew Lightning closer. She dropped her hand from her lips, and when she saw the vivid lust in his eyes, a wild blush ran across her face as she tried to look away. To make it worse, Cloud inclined his head to whisper into her ear, his hot breath sending the greatest shivers down her spine. "You can go ahead and hate me for what I've done…But I'm not letting you go."

She only dreamed that he would say these words; for her, it was a miracle that he truly felt this way. Through the whole incident with Tifa, Lightning wanted to do whatever it took to throw away her hopes and desires…but in the back of her mind, there was still one wish. If somehow, some way, Cloud reciprocated her feelings, she didn't want to waste the chance. Coming to the Planet was an opportunity at moving on in life – who was to say she couldn't do it with him?

Lightning's fingers delicately brushed against his cheek, curious as to how he would react after wishing to try it for so long. He closed his eyes while inhaling deeply; her touch sent marvelous sensations through his body, and his grip was possessively tight as he brought his hand up to hold hers.

"I won't let you go, either," she whispered with a smile, and it drove Cloud over the edge.

"That's good to hear."

Before they even had a chance to breathe, their lips were fastened into another kiss, forceful and passionate. Lightning threw her arms around his neck, her fingers raking through his hair, while his arms snaked around her slender form to press her body up against his. She enjoyed how he was rough and tender at the same time – lustful yet considerate.

When her hands slid down his chest and abs, Cloud delicately held her face to angle upward, allowing his tongue better access into her mouth to massage hers gently. The soft moan she elicited made his hands shoot down to her thighs, and a firm squeeze caused her to jump and wrap her legs around his waist. As he carried her with no trouble at all, Cloud took a few steps to the queen size bed before leaning forward to drop her on top. Lightning gripped tightly onto the collar of his shirt to make sure he collapsed with her, and his outstretched arms allowed him to hover above her. He took a moment for his eyes to devour her beautiful body, enjoying every second he spent with her.

Tugging down on his shirt, Lightning had to reach up some of the way to invite his lips again, and it wasn't long for him to collapse onto her. Her legs hitched themselves on his hips while his hands traveled down her body, brushing her curves with a tender touch. Neither of them was modest about their desires, but it was Cloud who finally broke free to take deep breaths. When his eyes looked into hers, she could sense a change within him.

"What is it?" she asked, her own chest heaving to catch a breath.

Cloud lifelessly chuckled to himself as he considered the thoughts running through his head. "You're finally here, within my reach…" With a sigh, he moved to sit beside her on the bed, stretching one of his legs out across the mattress. Lightning flipped over and propped herself up by the elbows as she watched him run a hand through the spiky hair her own hand ravaged. "From the very beginning, I shouldn't have pushed you away…"

"Push me away?"

"People I love, people I cherish…they always get hurt, no matter how hard I try to protect them. Though none of them blame me, I still feel responsible for leading them into trouble in the first place." His face was flustered with a red shade, and he took a deep breath through his nostrils to calm himself down. "If you were ever in danger because of me—"

"Then I'd tell you it was never your fault," she interjected, realizing where he was going with his self-scolding. Sitting herself upright, Lightning held both sides of his face so he could face her firm eyes properly. "Cloud," she started in a softer voice. "Holding onto guilt doesn't help in getting past it all. If you ever try to push me away, I'll do whatever it takes to hold onto you." She blushed as she realized what had escaped her lips. Throughout her life, she rarely showed this level of attachment to anyone. Her wicked tongue and strength always pushed people away from her heart, refusing to show them even an ounce of her vulnerability. It surprised even her as how much Cloud meant to her and how much she wanted him in her life.

With a grateful smile, Cloud took one of her hands into his before throwing it over his shoulder. "Promise?" he whispered just before leaning forward and pressing his lips onto hers again, this time a bit more gentle. Lightning allowed herself to fall back onto the bed, her head landing in the soft pillows as she wrapped her arms around his neck with desire. His hands pressed against the small of her back, causing her body to arch toward him while their legs tangled themselves above the sheets.

All the while, Cloud just felt like losing all sense of reality. It was hard to believe that he had come so far with Lightning; if he hadn't let go of his past, they would have been even further apart. He didn't want to know what the future held, whether it is them losing each other or if they actually survived the troubles and remained in each other's arms. With Lightning by his side, he didn't have to think about the troubles, and all the battles that brought him to this point finally seemed like they were worth fighting.

The chopper slowly touched down on the grassy field as Lightning and Cloud stood side by side in the early following morning. As soon as they started heading toward it, Reeve jumped out of the cabin and rushed up with worried eyes. Other WRO members came out and began preparing for a sweep through the mountains.

"Lightning. Are you all right?"

She nodded with an apologetic smile. "Yeah. Sorry about the trouble, Reeve."

Letting out a sigh of relief, he humbly returned the smile. "What matters is that you're safe," he assured. "What happened?"

Hesitant, Lightning glanced over to Cloud, who finally became curious as to how she got tangled up in this mess in the first place. Through the whole patrol, her mind was filled with too many negative thoughts to even concentrate on her mission. Thinking quickly, she put the pieces together, remembering what Yuffie had said months ago.

"Remember the disappearances from Wutai? I don't think they were just coincidences…" She proceeded to tell him about her speculations: her fall in Mt. Corel had some similarities to the incident in Mt. Nibel. If there was any connection, Lightning was definite that she, or at least the WRO itself, was a target. Some of the Wutai troops that went missing were working together with the WRO, so it was possible their venture from their homeland was a perfect opportunity for capture.

Reeve nodded in understanding, his body tense with worry for his organization. "That means we'll have to evacuate Mt. Corel."

Lightning took a step forward. "I'll help—"

"No," a firm voice said next to her. Over her shoulder, she gave Cloud a confused look as his eyes bore a hard resolve.

"But Cloud—"

"You just got out of danger," he reminded her while shaking his head. "I'm not letting you jump back in."

It always ate her up inside about how concerned he was for her safety. If he always acted like this around her, it meant his feelings were there for the longest time, and thinking that he cared for her like this since then made the butterflies in her stomach flutter more wildly.

After seeing a faint blush rise in her cheeks, Reeve understood and nodded. "Right. Well, we're dispatching a search team to investigate." He took a step to the side and stretched an arm out to the helicopter. "Just take a rest back in Edge and I'll call you if we find something."

Cloud led the way to the helicopter as Lightning closely followed behind, her brows tightly knitted together. "It would be better if I helped," she complained, but the irritation dissipated in a flash when Cloud spun on his heel, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her close for an abrupt kiss. When he pulled back all too soon, the blush grew across her face as her breaths drew out heavily. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder, and she heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Reeve still walking to Mt. Corel, his back turned toward them.

"Can you at least trust me to get you back home before something else happens to you?" Cloud asked in a low voice, his eyes burning as they gazed into hers.

While the blush remained on her cheeks, Lightning gave a slow nod, eliciting a smile from Cloud. She knew it was the right thing to do, considering how stubborn her determination was recently. The effort of coming out here to save her definitely had to be rewarded.

Taking her hand, he led her into the chopper and slid down the seat; he let out a sigh of relief at the thought of going back home without any casualties. As the chopper took off into the sky, Lightning tiredly rested her head on his shoulder, and she watched the WRO start the search on the mountains in organized units. She was worried that they would fall in the same predicament as her, but the doubt faded away as her hand snaked around Cloud's arm to lace her fingers through his. Cloud nestled her head beneath his cheek, and for once, his heart was calm yet filling his chest with uncontainable warmth.

When they walked through Edge streets, Lightning was met by WRO troops who were restless with worry. She insisted that she was okay, and that she just wanted to rest before going back to her regular duties the following day. Things weren't any different at the bar; when they were visible through the windows, Tifa dropped the towel in her hand and rushed out the door to greet them.

"Lightning! Are you okay? I was worried when you didn't answer your phone."

Lightning nodded as she gave an apologetic smile. "I'm all right, Tifa. Cell reception kinda sucked in the place where I fell." She did her best to lighten the mood, for all three of them knew how awkward it as to face each other like this after what had transpired.

Tifa frowned and averted her gaze to the ground. "Light…I'm—"

Gentle arms wrapped around Tifa, giving her a sense of comfort she never really expected. "There's nothing you have to apologize for," Lightning assured, softly smiling as she pulled back. "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who should be sorry for running off."

Even when her plan spiraled out of control, Tifa still wanted the two of them to work things out. She couldn't bear to continue on after clarifying things and not see them together. "But…what about you two…?"

It was obvious as to what she was referring to, and Lightning and Cloud's faces turned a shade of red while intentionally looking away from each other. However, Tifa's perceptive eyes switched her gaze back and forth between the two, and she wasn't going to let them walk away anymore.

"You already know, don't you?" Cloud asked with a harmless frown, and his hand reached out to grasp Lightning's. As Lightning looked back at him with wide eyes, a sly smirk reached Tifa's lips.

"About time, too," she prodded.

He let out a heavy sigh and looked away. "Yeah, yeah."

"Light!"

From behind Tifa, Marlene and Denzel bustled out of the bar and rushed to Lightning, who dropped to her knees and scooped Marlene into her arms. As she embraced the little girl, Lightning used one hand to scruff Denzel's hair when he approached. "Marlene. Denzel." She didn't think she would be attached to young children in an affectionate way, but seeing them grow up and mature gave her hope for a blissful future.

When Marlene pulled away, she gave Lightning a warm smile with a nod. "Don't worry – we'll knock some sense into Cloud."

His ears easily caught her words, and Cloud's eyes narrowed at the giggling little girl. "Hey…" As Denzel and Tifa joined her, he shuffled around the group and entered the bar with a hanging head. Lightning watched him with pursed lips before getting up to her feet and following him inside.

Marlene looked up at Tifa and grinned brightly. The young bartender chuckled with relief, feeling that all was finally right in their little family, and she wasn't going to let Cloud's somber demeanor mess things up.

"Cloud is Cloud."

Once Lightning changed back into her usual house clothing, she went back downstairs for a specially cooked meal from Tifa and told her companion of the trek through Mt. Corel. Tifa readily agreed with Cloud that it wasn't safe for her to venture out alone again, at least until they figured out who was behind the attacks as well as the disappearances from Wutai.

"Has Yuffie said anything?" Lightning inquired just as she finished eating.

Tifa grimaced. "Not really. She's still busy dealing with collateral damage from the stigma infection."

Lightning clenched her hand into a tight fist, the memory of the pain flowing back to her like a stab to the heart. Even when time had passed since the global infection, she was sure people wouldn't let go of such grudges easily. What could one do when her whole village blamed her for saving the world and the fatal disease that came as a price?

"And Lightning…I just want you to know I'm glad you worked things out with Cloud." Tifa smiled warmly. "Really – I'm happy for both of you."

Returning the smile, Lightning couldn't have asked for a better friend. Even with Cloud being a factor, she didn't want anything to become a thorn in her friendship with Tifa, and she wanted to be grateful for the rest of her life.

From the top of the stairs, Cloud smiled at the mutual understanding they had both reached. If the two most important women in his life were at ends with each other, he wouldn't have known what to do. It was an odd sensation – like having an ex giving his current girlfriend her blessing. He chuckled to himself as he stepped into the bathroom and took a quick shower, changing into a black sleeveless shirt and synthetic sweats afterwards. When he headed back to his room, he felt a slight tug at the back of his shirt, and he looked over his shoulder to see Lightning hesitantly looking away.

What tugged at Cloud's heart the most was the deep yearning in her aqua eyes, as difficult as it was for her to fully express into words. With a smirk, he opened the door to his room while reaching back to pull her arm and swing her to enter his room first. While he moved his heel back to shut the door behind him, Cloud's hands pulled Lightning close, his lips happily inviting hers. His gentle touch seemed like a heaven she never thought of finding, and she wished to stay within it for as long as she could.