Chapter 20
A few days later I get mobbed. One late delivery to Kalm and everything falls apart. I'm already running behind due to the fact that addresses in Kalm are a joke. It's a small enough town that everyone knows everyone else and they all claim they don't need numbers to tell them where people live. This means that I have to wander around town randomly asking people where the person lives. I usually don't mind this because I've delivered to pretty much everyone who orders stuff with us so I already know where they are, but if I don't get the package delivered the first time then I'll have to come back another day. So, it's usually worth the headache of finding someone to avoid the second trip. Today was different, today I had to spend almost four hours asking around to find the person I was delivering to.
By the time I get back on the road and headed home it's well past dark. Damn, the days are getting shorter. That also means they'll be getting colder and that's not a pleasant thought.
I'm about a third of the way back and starting to make the transition to the waste lands when a pack of thirty or more Kalm Fangs appear out of nowhere. One second the road is clear, the next it's covered in large purple wolves coming straight at me.
I stare in amazement for a second. You never see groups of more than maybe five of these guys together, they're not pack animals. I've honestly never seen this many. It's like the road is made of moving purple fur.
My second of hesitation costs me. The one in front launches into the air and all I can see is a red mouth with fangs flying towards me. There's not enough time to get out my sword, hell.
I duck to the side of my bike and hit the switch anyway. Better have it if the rest decide that I'm tasty looking. The creature goes flying over my head but only just, the one right behind it is closer and gets a pretty good slash in on my right shoulder. It catches me by surprise and my hands automatically jerk my bike into a sideways slide. I dive for my sword but it's too late, the damn thing goes skidding off behind me.
Son of a bitch, I'm not prepared for this. I hit the ground already rolling while my bike continues its slide, plowing into the mass of the Fangs. It's not enough, they just start jumping over it and continue coming at me. The few who have already passed me are turning around. Shit, shit, shit, of all the times to not be wearing my bloody armor. If there were only a few of these guys I wouldn't have a problem but with this many I'm going to get eaten alive.
I jump to my feet and start running in the direction my sword went. The beasts are already on my heels and there are a few in front of me, shit.
The Fang nearest me lunges and I just manage to dive out of its way. What I wouldn't give for my armor right now. The dive takes me off course and costs me time. They're closing in way too fast, bastards.
I continue running, where the hell is my sword. I should be able to see the damn thing by now. I can see in the fucking dark so why the hell can't I see it yet?
Several more Fangs are coming at me, I'm as good as dead if I can't pull this off. Seriously, I never thought that it would be monsters that took me down. At least not after Wutai.
I'm starting to panic as the Fang gets closer, my hands ball into fists but I'm pretty much scared shitless. I'm in the middle of nowhere surrounded by crazed monsters and I can't find my god damn sword...
A slight glint catches my eye from the roadside off to my left. Is that it? There's already a Fang coming from that direction but if that's my sword... Well it's not like I've got much of a choice.
I change direction and the Fangs almost collide behind me but there's still two directly in my way. The first one jumps and I lunge to the ground in an attempt to dodge. It works I roll directly under the animal but the second one is smarter than that.
I can see my sword from the ground I'm rolling on, six maybe seven feet, but that Fang is in the way. I hitch up to my feet and stare at the Fang. It's standing still, waiting, waiting for me to move. I'm standing still too after that stunt but I can't afford to be here long. I know the other ones are right behind me. Six bloody feet... how do I get past this fucker?
Alright, here goes nothing. I take two steps and try to launch myself over the animal. It's smarter than that. It leaps into the air to catch me and wraps it's sharp toothed jaw around my right forearm digging in and drawing blood. The extra weight drags me out of the air and I fall to the ground with a thump but it's too late. My scrabbling left hand makes contact with the blunt edge of my sword and I grab at it with all my strength swinging it around so the hilt catches the Fang across the side of the head.
The blow stuns the monster, but doesn't make it let go of my arm. I use the extra second to flip my sword and catch it by the handle then bring it down with a bone crushing thump across the back of the creatures neck. This isn't the time for technique or finesse.
The dead Fang's jaw loosens and I yank my arm out painfully. I swear to God, if I get out of this alive I'm never going without my armor again. But there isn't extra time to think, they're almost on me. I flip up to my feet and ready my sword. This isn't going to be pretty.
It's only now that I feel the familiar rush of Mako. Only now that my body decides it's in real danger and that I could use help. Bloody stupid Mako, but the flood of strange energy is doing its job. I can feel it enhancing my abilities and now I've got a decent second wind.
My sword catches the first charging Fang right down the middle practically cleaving the damn thing in two and I take the leg off another one with the upswing. The Fangs see this and become slightly more wary, but very few monsters in this world have anything resembling intelligence so they're not backing off completely.
My arm throbs and I know I'm losing blood, but my eyes stay focused on the creatures. Now that I've got my sword and the Mako has kicked in the fight is as good as won, but I've already been surprised by these guys three times in the last ten minutes so I'm not taking anything for granted. All I can hear is the faint clicking of claws on the asphalt and the occasional growl as they all circle me warily. Moments of tense silence pass like an eternity.
One of them finally makes a move while my back is turned and I get down to the nitty-gritty of monster extermination.
There's this group of eco-crazies who keep pushing for the government to make monster reservations. Places where people can't kill monsters, no matter what happens. They say that all monsters are a balanced part of the planet's ecosystem and that we're doing damage by killing them. Like I said, they're crazy.
This kind of situation is exactly why I think they're crazy. Monsters don't really have much of a survival instinct, they'll go up against anything and I mean anything. They don't protect their young, they don't form social relationships, and they don't do anything but kill. Realistically if it wasn't for the fact that they all breed like rabbits they would have been wiped out long ago.
My sword cleaves through the pack like soft butter. It's a challenge, I'm outnumbered but if there's one thing I know it's how to handle a sword. Still this has not been a good situation.
Seconds stretch into what seems like agonizing minutes and hours. I can feel my breath burning in my lungs and every time I raise my sword, my shoulder and forearm sends stabbing pain down my spine. By the time the Fang's are gone it takes me a few moments to realize that there's no reason to continue fighting.
My adrenalin drops and all I am is a blood covered maniac standing in a road with the bodies of several dozen creatures. There are piles of them, piles of limbs and blood stained fur.
My breath rasps in my throat and the tip of my sword hits the ground raising sparks. I can't hold it anymore. Bloody Christ, I survived... Somehow I survived. My brain keeps repeating my surprise while my body cleans my sword on auto-pilot.
God I haven't felt like this since Wutai. Haven't felt the brain numbing rush of Mako with the sudden come down of sheer unbelievable consternation that I'm still alive. Nothing makes you crash like surviving something you thought was suicide. I'm serious though, I'm never going without my armor again.
My brain restarts and suddenly I realize exactly what has happened. For whatever reason I just got mobbed by creatures with a brain the size of a walnut. I got mobbed by creatures that never travel in packs and are dead easy to deal with. Fuck, I've got to tell someone.
I place a call to the local monster hotline. Ten minute conversation in which the don't believe a damn word I say, twenty minutes of waiting for someone to show up to see I'm telling the truth, half an hour of questioning in which I have to tell the story fifteen times.
For fuck's sake why the hell do they need to keep me here? I just spent the whole day trying to do my job, almost got overrun by pansy-ass monsters and now I'm being questioned like an idiot. I want to go home and sleep.
-
My eyes open to absolute overwhelming darkness. I woke up, somehow I woke up. The darkness slowly resolves into the familiar shadowy features of my apartment. I remember now. I got done with the monster cleanup people and came home, took the shortest shower of my life then collapsed on my bed. Still why am I awake? I could have sworn I would have slept through tomorrow. I was so tired I don't remember most of the ride home.
Some instant feeling creeps into my brain. I'm awake for a reason. A noise, there's a repeating jingling little noise in my room. A phone, my phone. My phone is ringing.
I groan and wince, God I don't want to move. Why is my phone ringing at this time of the night? Where the hell is it anyway? My hand flails around on the bed until it makes contact with the little square. The phone stops ringing almost as soon as I pick it up. The bright light scars the retinas of my eyes and I squint at it for a second. Ten missed calls, you have got to be kidding me.
The ringing starts again in my hand and I answer it without looking.
"Hello?"
"Cloud?" The whispered voice is almost inaudible through the speaker.
"Tifa?" I ask hazily as my brain finally makes some kind of connection.
"Cloud you have to come over," she says after a minute her voice still hushed and hoarse.
"What?" I ask frowning and closing my eyes again. Come over, what the hell is she talking about? It's the middle of the night.
"There's something in my apartment," she almost stammers and for the first time I hear fear in her voice.
The words send chills down my spine and I sit bolt upright. "What?"
"There's something in my apartment," she repeats almost crying.
I take a deep breath and stand up. "Alright, where are you?"
"In the bedroom."
"You need to get out of there." Shirt, where the hell is a clean shirt? What did I do with my boots? "Can you get onto the roof?"
"No," she whispers. God she sounds scared. I've never heard her even a little frightened before. "If I move they'll get me."
"Are they in there with you?" I ask quickly digging through my closet for something to wear. They can't be in the same room as her, she wouldn't be talking to me if they were. How long have they been there? She called me ten times before I picked up.
"They're in the walls." Her voice goes high and she starts to sob.
I pause in my frantic search. In the walls? How could they be in the walls? A suspicion starts to creep up on me. I've got to ask. "What exactly is in your apartment?"
She's silent for a second. Is it really some kind of burglar or something? "I don't know." Once again her voice is almost a wail. If someone was there they certainly would have heard that. "I can hear them breathing."
"Tifa," I sigh and rub my face with my hand. The rush of adrenalin that got me out of bed is dying and leaving me so tired I feel like I can't move. "How long has it been since you slept?"
Dead silence greets my question.
"Tifa?" I repeat.
"I don't know." She answers hesitantly. "A few days?" It's more a question than an answer.
I groan and blink my eyes. "You don't know?"
"Please just come over and get them." She pleads.
"You haven't slept," I tell her. I knew her insomnia was bad, but this is more than just sleep deprivation. "You just need to get some rest."
"Please Cloud?" she asks again.
I stare for a second. God, what is wrong with me? This gorgeous woman is pleading me to come over and rescue her from imaginary monsters and I'm trying to get out of it. Plus there is a chance that something could actually be there. I don't think it's worth risking. "Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thank you." She sinks back into the almost inaudible range.
I hang up the phone and rub my face again. Alright, clothes first, find my boots and jacket, keys. Then I'll go save her from whatever it is.
Jesus, what am I some knight in shining armor? Am I her hero or am I just a sucker for her?
-
By the time I get to the bar it's well past four in the morning. Everything is closed and the roads are practically deserted. I don't even pass a cop on my way there. All the lights in the bar are out. There aren't any on upstairs either.
I knock on the back door of the bar. I know the staircase up to her apartment is right next to it. I hope she's still not too afraid to move. Minutes pass and there is no response.
Next I try her phone but it just rings until the voicemail picks up. Hell, she's not answering the door or her phone. How am I supposed to get in?
I stare at the building for a few moments then try the door again hopefully. No I'm not that lucky, bloody hell. I guess this means the roof.
I've seen her get into her apartment that way before but... It takes me a few minutes to find a way up, it's too bad I can't pull off her launching trick but I wouldn't have the energy for it anyway. Eventually I pull my self up with the help of the dumpster and a fence. God I'm glad she's the only one who lives up here. I can just imagine what would happen if Barret found me sneaking around the roof in the middle of the night.
Okay I know one of these windows lead to her apartment but the question is which one. I find what's probably her bedroom at the second one.
Tap tap... nothing.
Tap tap tap... Damn, I guess this means I'm breaking and entering.
There's no sound as I ease the window open and crawl through. The whole place is dead silent. No noise means either someone heard me coming or there really is no one here.
"Tifa?" My voice echoes in the room. Still no sound.
By now my eyes have adjusted. I've never been in her room before, hell I've only been in the apartment once before. It's cluttered but clean. A couple of shelves are crammed full of little trinkets and things of the sort. There are a few children's drawings on the walls, probably from Marlene but no Tifa.
I step over to the slightly open door and glance into the living room. No noise and I can't see anybody. If there ever was someone here they're gone now, still no Tifa.
A slight noise makes me turn around. A faint scratch but that's all it is. The bed catches my attention. Something is wrong with it. Not by much but something is wrong. It's pulled away from the wall more than it should be.
I carefully walk over and squat at the end of the gap. She's there, curled up in the corner with a baseball bat clutched in both hands.
"Tifa," I try gently to make her hear me.
She doesn't respond. Her eyes are dull, glazed over I don't think she's even seeing the room anymore.
"Tifa," I say again and slowly move closer taking the bat out of her hands. "Tifa look at me."
A shiver runs through her body when I put my hands over hers and she seems to focus on me for the first time. "Cloud!" He voice is barely a gasp but she latches onto my hands with a death grip. "You're here."
"I'm here." I reassure her still speaking gently and pull her out of the gap and onto the bed.
"Did you get them?"
"There's nothing here Tifa."
"They're here. I know they are."
"Tifa there's no one in your apartment," I tell her again prying her hands off of mine.
She doesn't look convinced. Jesus her eyes are like saucers.
"Alright," I fold. "I'll look again. You stay here."
"No!" She panics and grabs my arm. "I... They'll get me."
I stare at her, I never thought I would see her this terrified. I haven't seen anyone this terrified in a long time.
"You want to come with me?" I ask after a minute.
She bites her lip and glances around. I understand her dilemma. Come with me and see what ever it is she's to terrified of or stay her where they might get her when I'm away. After a moment she nods.
"Okay, come on." I pull her fully to her feet. She's still clutching my arm like it's her link to life. Damn, it just has to be the arm that got messed up earlier tonight doesn't it? "Here," I remove her grip and offer her my other hand. This way I'll at least be able to move. She grabs it and quickly intertwines her fingers with mine. I can feel the heat even through my gloves.
I end up having to take her through every room, cupboard, and drawer in the whole place. Even then she's not convinced.
"See." I make her sit down on the couch. "Nothing here."
"I-I don't understand." She shakes and curls her knees up to her face. "They were here."
I sigh, in a lot of ways I understand what she's going through right now. I know that she just needs sleep, a lot of sleep and in order to do that she needs to feel safe but... Well sometimes it's hard to deal with people when they're like this.
"They must have left," I tell her and pat her shoulder with my free hand. "You're safe now."
God, she looks so confused. "I..."
"Do you need anything?"
She cranes her head around the room for a second then turns back to me. "Water?"
"Alright," I nod but she doesn't move, hell. "Tifa, you have to let go of me if you want me to get you water."
Her eyes suddenly focus on our hands still intertwined from the search. Confusion crosses her face again as if she didn't realize she was latched onto me, then slowly her fingers uncurl and I get to move my hand again.
I can feel her eyes staring through my back the whole time I'm in the kitchen. She watches intently as I search the cupboards for a glass and fill it.
By the time I get back to her side she's shaking again. Even the glass shakes as she takes a sip.
"Do you need anything else?"
She mutters under her breath for a second then looks up at me pleadingly. "Cold?"
I sigh and head back to her bedroom to grab a blanket. As soon as I leave her sight she starts to whimper. Jesus, she must have it bad if she's afraid to let me out of her sight. I saw her two, three days ago and she didn't say anything about not sleeping. If I had known...
When I return to the living room blanket in hand she's kneeling on the couch and peering over the back to see me. Damn, I'm still dead tired but I can't leave her like this. She needs to sleep and there's no way she will if I leave. Alright, I'll stay until she falls asleep then I'm going home.
I tuck the blanket around her shoulders and take the seat on the opposite end of the couch. Not a second after I sit down she latches onto me again. One hand in mine and her head on my shoulder. I try not to stiffen, I really do but it's been a long time since I touched someone like this. There have been moments where we've been close but this is full blown space invading. If it were anyone else... but it's her.
It puts me in mind of Kunsel, at least the last time I saw him. Nice guy, a little odd, but a nice guy. Every platoon gets a few people who are just a little off, a few crazies. He was one of ours.
Big fan of conspiracy theories, thought the government had monster farms and bred the damn things to keep the civilian population in line. The only reason he was there was because he got drafted. One of the few people I ever knew to take the risk of not getting a Mako infusion. He had all kinds of theories about that too but I don't even remember them anymore.
There was a nasty raid about a month after he transfered to us. A few of us died and a whole hell of a lot of Wutains. I dunno, I guess the stress just broke him because he stopped sleeping after that. At first we thought it was just shock and he would get over it but he didn't. He started out forgetful then progressed to full on delusional. Forgetting your ammo is not something that you want to do in the middle of a war zone.
It only got worse, at some point he started to hallucinate, claimed the only way to kill the enemy was a stake through the heart. Like I said, a little off. By the end of it he was camped out in the bottom of a fox-hole and shooting at anyone who got within fifteen feet. It took three days and the combined effort of more than half the platoon to get him out.
God knows it takes a lot for the Military to admit that a soldier has mental problems. I can testify that at least a third of the guys in my platoon, including one of my superior officers, shouldn't have been there. Apparently taking pot-shots at your own troops will do it though. Kunsel got out on a mentally unfit for duty charge.
The thing is everything that Tifa's doing right now is almost scarily similar to how he acted just before he went off the deep end. The twitchy movements, the wide eyes and the absolute conviction that something is out to get her all remind me of him. Honestly it scares the living shit out of me that she could be this close to the edge. Granted Kunsel was pretty close to crazy in the first place and Tifa's one of the most grounded people I know but I still don't like it.
Man how did this happen to me? A few months ago it would have been unfortunate but it wouldn't have affected me like this. A few months ago this wouldn't have been my problem. Now I'm sitting here in her apartment and hoping like hell that she'll sleep because I don't know what I would do if something happened to her.
There it is, I can deny it all I want, but it's true. Somehow Tifa is more important to me than anything else. She's become one of the centers of my life. It's like I met her and my whole world opened up. She's made me change the way I look at it.
I go ahead and take one long look at her. Her eyes are closed but twitching, her face pale and her hand still tight in mine. She looks like she's having a bad dream, maybe that's why she doesn't want to sleep. I know the feeling, dreams have a nasty way of bringing back things you don't ever want to see again.
She's not just a friend of mine that happens to be attractive anymore. She's a woman I care about, deeply. More than I thought I was capable of after the last few years. Damn, so much for self control.
Something makes her brows draw together and her free hand scrabbles at the blanket. I can't leave her here like this. I don't have it in me to walk away, not now.
-
Loud knocking at the door wakes me up with a start. Once again it takes my brain a couple seconds to realize what's going on. I'm at Tifa's, I'm lying on her couch with her curled up next to me and someone is knocking at the door. Shit what should I do?
"Tifa!" The yell echo's through the door. "I'm droppin' Marlene off. Gotta catch my flight."
It's Barret, fuck! God only knows what he'll do if he catches me here. My body reacts without a second thought and I jerk up and vault over the back of the couch plastering myself to the floor as the sound of the door opening reaches my ears. Thank God I know how to move silently.
"She's sleeping daddy, don't wake her up." Marlene's scolding, high pitched voice reaches me and only makes my heart pound faster.
"Sorry baby," the man grumbles and I hear him take a few steps into the room. "She been sleepin' lately?"
"Not much," The little girl answers like it's normal for Tifa to be dead to the world on her own couch. Faint footsteps come across the floor and suddenly I'm looking into Marlene's brown eyes. We both freeze and stare at each other for a second.
"What 'chu lookin' at?" His voice comes across accusingly. I raise a finger to my lips and shake my head silently. For God's sake don't let him catch me here. It's not like I couldn't hold my own against the large man but I don't think him freaking out is something Tifa wants or Marlene should see.
"Nothing daddy," She turns away and gives him a bright smile. "I was just wondering why she's not in her bed." Give the girl credit, she's bright.
"Okay." I can almost hear the frown in his voice. "You gonna be a'right till she wakes up?"
"I'll be fine daddy." She gives him her best smile and retreats from my line of vision.
"Gimmie a kiss," There's a pause. "Ya want me ta call ya tonight?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The little girl squeals loud enough that I'm sure it's going to wake Tifa up.
"You be good for Teef, I'll see you next week."
"Love you daddy."
"Love you too baby." There's more stomping around then the door finally closes and I let out a breath. Holy fucking shit, I've had more near death experiences in the last twenty four hours than I care for.
There's a giggle and Marlene rounds the corner of the couch again staring at me. After a moment I drag myself to my feet and rub my face. Good God it's not even dawn.
"What are you doing?" She asks me cocking her head.
"Uhh..." The tired word leaps from my mouth without my consent. Crap, how do I deal with a little girl? I glance at the couch hoping Tifa will come to my rescue. No luck, she's still out.
"Mr. Cloud?"
I give the quiet sign again and walk over to Tifa. Well if she slept through Barret then she's not likely to wake up anytime soon. She needs to sleep so it's probably a good thing but hell, I need help. I kneel down and pick her up. There's all this propaganda that carrying a limp girl is romantic and easy. It's dead wrong, carrying a limp anybody is difficult. After a moment of watching me Marlene grabs the hanging folds of blanket and follows me into Tifa's bedroom. We get her into the bed and covered up the little girl more hindering than helping but obviously trying. She's a sweet kid.
It's only once I shut the door and relax a little that she speaks again. "Is Tifa alright?"
"Yeah, she's just tired." I rub my face. "She's been having nightmares."
"Oh," The little girl shrugs and climbs into one of the chairs at the small table in the kitchen. "The monsters again."
Monsters again? I stare for a second. "She dreams about them often?"
"Mm-Hm." She nods. "She sleeps on the couch when they scare her. She didn't sleep for a really long time once, daddy said she started dreaming when she was awake." She picks at the edge of the table. "It was really scary."
This isn't the first time then. Damn, that's not good. Is she really so scared of her dreams that she pushes herself to near insanity? I rub my face again and realize that Marlene is staring at me pretty intently. "What?"
"I'm hungry," she states and keeps staring.
Oh, she's a little kid, I'm an adult, she's hungry, so she expects me to do something about it. Well, I guess I better deliver. I don't do much cooking, not even for myself. Between Godo and my work schedule I get fed without much effort. I hope Tifa has something I can actually make.
A quick search through the fridge and cupboards results in toast, cereal and orange juice for the kid. I keep myself happy with a couple of slices of toast and some instant coffee buried at the back of one of the cupboards. My body just wants to go back to sleep but I don't have time. I'll need to be at work in an hour or so and I don't feel comfortable just leaving Marlene here by herself. Maybe I should call out just to make sure that Tifa sleeps and someone is here to watch the kid. It's a difficult situation.
Tifa's door swings open with a slam and she leaps into the room "God Marlene, I'm so sorry you must be starving." The words fade off as she sees me and the breakfast Marlene is eating. Shock crosses her face then a blush rises. "Cloud."
I set my coffee down and brace myself. This is going to be interesting. She still looks dead tired. The bags under her eyes have only diminished a little. She barely got three hours of sleep.
"Umm... " She crosses her arms over her chest and gives a faint smile. "Morning."
"Morning Tifa." Marlene gives her bright smile. "Cloud made me breakfast."
"Oh, that's good." Tifa stares for a few more seconds, confusion obviously playing across her face.
"You were asleep so daddy just dropped me off." The girl continues, oblivious to the tension.
"Right," Tifa continues to stare at me. "Cloud can I talk to you?"
I nod and follow her into her room very intentionally leaving the door open. She crosses her arms and turns on me once we're inside. "I... wha... how..." She doesn't seem to be able to get any words out.
I sigh and rub my face leaning against the door frame. "Do you remember anything?" I finally ask.
She mutely shakes her head.
I tap my fingers for a moment then decide that truth is the best policy here. "You called me at something like three in the morning because something was in your apartment and demanded that I come over to get rid of it."
The blush immediately darkens and her hands come up to cover her face. "Oh God, I... I'm sorry. I didn't know it was getting to that point."
I frown at her. "Getting to that point? You were hysterical."
She rolls her eyes at me. "Oh come on, it's not that bad. I was just a little out of it."
"A little out of it?" I glare at her. "You were having delusions about monsters and now you don't remember any of it."
Her eyes narrow and I belatedly realize that maybe that could have been phrased a little better. "It just happens sometimes, alright?" She crosses her arms again.
"Why didn't you tell me you hadn't been sleeping?" I try a different tack.
"Oh," She blinks at me. "And now I need to tell you everything?"
"Tifa," I sigh and grit my teeth. She's not usually this defensive. She's not usually defensive at all. "That's not what I'm saying. I just don't think it's good for you to miss that much sleep. It can be dangerous."
"Dangerous?" She almost laughs in my face. "It's just sleep, besides I always catch up."
Great, she's not going to fold on this. I hate confrontations, I hate dealing with this kind of thing. "I just don't want to see anything bad happen to you."
"Really?" She cocks her head at me and stabs a finger into my chest a couple different times. "You sure as hell don't show it. You don't show anything."
I rub my forehead. "Alright, I have to go to work and you still need to sleep. Maybe once you've rested you can listen to sense and..."
"Listen to sense?" she interrupts me, "If you had any damn sense you would..." She bites the words off mid sentence.
"Tifa you need to sleep."
"You don't have the right to tell me what to do."
"Maybe not but it doesn't change the fact that you still need to sleep."
We stare at each other for a few tense moments. She finally folds her arms and looks away from me. "I thought you had to go to work."
It almost feels like a slap from her. This definitely isn't the Tifa I know. I should just walk away, she can deal with this herself if she's so damned determined to. No, I can't not until I know she's going to do something about it.
I grit my teeth and glare. "I'm not going anywhere until you say you'll go back to sleep."
"I can't," She waves a hand flippantly. " I have to watch Marlene."
"So call Yuffie and she can watch the kid while you sleep," I almost growl at her. This does not bode well. Between my exhaustion and her anger I don't know how much longer I can deal with this.
We glare for another few seconds then she snaps up her phone. "Yuffie? Yeah I know, do you have school today? Are you sure? Yeah well someone," she glared pointedly at me, "won't leave my house until I get help to watch Marlene. No no, I just haven't been sleeping much and they're taking it way too seriously. Okay, thanks, yeah, I'll see you in a little bit." She slams the phone shut and throws it on her bed. "She's on her way over."
I stare at her for a second then nod. What else am I going to do, I usually trust her. Even like this she wouldn't lie to me about it. "Alright, I'll leave."
I turn and stalk out into the living area scooping up my jacket on the way.
"Are you leaving Cloud?" Marlene asks hurriedly.
"Yeah," I shake myself and try to put a good face on for her. "I have to go to work."
She runs up and throws her arms around my leg in a hug. "Thank you for breakfast."
"Sure kid." I pat her awkwardly on the head and stare at Tifa still standing in her doorway. She still looks mad but she's giving me a funny stare like she can't understand what she's seeing. I hate to have made her angry like that but it's more important to me that she sleeps. Well, hopefully we can patch things up later, I'm already going to be late.
Yeah, I'm back. For a little while at least. So here's the deal, there are two major things delaying the story.
One, I essentially got put in charge of the costume shop at my college. This means that along with making the costumes, which I already do, I also have to every night of every play we put on and make sure that everyone is properly dressed. As you can imagine this takes up almost all my spare time. Writing doesn't get a whole lot of priority when all I want is sleep.
Two, got a new boyfriend. Not that important until I tell you that we act almost exactly like Cloud and Tifa in this story. It's weird, really weird. The point is that I have had every chapter of this story planned out for over a year now. Problem is that shortly after new boyfriend and I started dating I realized that almost everything I had planned from this point on was disturbingly inaccurate to the characters. I started writing this story to see how accurate and realistic I could get characters, it means a lot to me. I just can't write much less post something that I feel doesn't represent the characters I love. So I scrapped what I had planned and started over. I'm not changing anything that has already been posted. I'm not restarting the story. I'm just changing some things you guys have never seen to hopefully make me feel better about the whole thing. On the upside it should make the story a little shorter and easier to wrap up.
Hopefully I'm done planning but no promises. I worked on this for five months before I even posted the first chapter. Having to change half the plot in the middle is hard for me. I have no intention of abandoning this story, I'm going to finish it even if it's the death of me. I just needed and may still need a little time to get it straight.
I love my reviewers though. I don't think I could do a damn thing without you guys encouraging me. So once again wonderful thanks to all my amazing friends; Fezzy, Fast, venom828, vLuna, Kattzia, Sacred3, Biskitty, beacoup riant, goat god, , Holy Wolf(also my Beta Reader, give her applause for putting up with my sorry ass), chipmouskin, mom calling, AnimeRoxMySox, Kibuka, and Fairheartstrife.
Song for this bit: started of as Kids by MGMT but it's been long enough that I'm not so sure anymore.
See you when I can, Palo