I do not own Final Fantasy VII.

Twisted Fate

XXI: What He's Done

The house was quiet but Tifa was unable to sleep. She stared at the ceiling, rubbing the cold, empty space beside her. A beautiful blonde man used to sleep there, but now it seemed only his ghost remained. Another blonde man was in the next room, but despite looking identical to him, he was not as beautiful was her man.

She sniffed the pillow. His scent was fading fast and absolutely no warmth from him remained. It was almost as if he was never there. Tifa clutched the pillow against her chest, burying her face deep into it, hoping to capture the last of his smell.

"Where are you, Cloud?" She breathed.

Somewhere between memories and tears, Tifa found sleep. But it was restless and stressful; her dreams were filled with the possibilities of what happened to her Cloud. Was he kidnapped, was he dead, did he run off with another woman, did he just plain run off? Anything was possible. She tossed and turned, all the while crying in her sleep.

"Cloud!" She cried out as she punched the pillow. "Cloud, please!"

In the next room, Cloud was roused from his own dreams by the sound of her screams. Without thinking, he jumped from the cot and rushed out to the hall. Denzel had opened his door, panic plain on his face.

"Go back to bed, Denzel."

"But Tifa –"

"I said, go back to bed. I'll see to Tifa." Cloud shoved him back into his room before turning to Tifa's door.

She screamed again as Cloud entered her room, finding her rolling around her bed, throwing punches into the air.

"Cloud!"

"Tifa, wake up." He grabbed her wrists, bringing them down to her chest. She struggled against him, but Cloud kept her pinned until she calmed. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked directly into his face. Gasping for breath, she flung her arms around his neck, pulling him down onto her.

"Cloud, you're back!" She sobbed, burying her face in his neck and breathing him in. Then she went rigid. "No…" She leaned back from him; his scent was not the same. That was when it hit her; this was not her Cloud but the impostor.

"Tifa…"

"What are you doing in my room?" She pushed him off of her, drawing up the sheets to cover herself even though she wore pajamas.

"You were screaming for me. I thought you might need help." He said honestly.

"I was?" She shook her head, "I was calling for Cloud."

"Well, my name is Cloud too."

"Whatever, just…please go away."

Cloud felt a tiny little ping in his tiny little heart. "Why do I even try?" He left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Tifa closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. She wanted to thank him, but the words just wouldn't come out. Keeping her eyes closed, Tifa lay back down, drawing the covers up under her chin.

"Please, let me sleep." She whispered to the dark.

"Okay kids," Cloud groaned as he slapped together some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. "Tifa's still asleep, so I'm seeing you off to school today.

"Yippee." Denzel sighed, wrinkling his nose at the slice of bologna Cloud slid into one of the sandwiches.

"Are you putting mayonnaise with the peanut butter?" Marlene said in horror.

"Maybe I am."

"You want us to die don't you?"

"Don't be so dramatic and stop asking questions."

"Whatever your making is gonna kill us!"

"No it won't, my dad made this crap for me when I was your age."

Marlene shook her head, "Stop lying, you didn't have a dad, Cloud."

"Okay, my mom then. Whatever." He tossed the sandwiches unwrapped into the paper bags before throwing them at the kids, "Here, get out."

The kids gagged as they held their bags as far away from their noses as possible. Once they were outside, they ran to the nearest trashcan and disposed of the toxic waste. They'd rather starve than eat whatever sludge he'd concocted. And they both knew a thing or two about starving.

"Does Cloud seem different to you, Denzel?" Marlene wrung her skirt in her hands.

"He's been acting weird ever since he came home unconscious."

"Maybe he hit his head or something."

"Who knows, all I know is that he's not the same person he was before."

Tifa came down several hours after the kids left for school. She was bummed that she'd missed them.

"Did the kids get their lunches?"

"Yeah, I made sandwiches for them." Cloud tossed the cheese wrappers in the trashcan.

Tifa paused, "You made them lunch?"

"I did. Is that a problem?"

"N-no, it's actually really nice of you."

Cloud curled his lip in a sardonic grin. "I just made them my dad's specialty."

"What's that?"

"Suicide Sandwich."

"What?"

"It's a sandwich with a little bit of everything. Peanut butter, jelly, mustard, mayonnaise, bologna, cheese, the whole bit."

Tifa's stomach lurched, "Why the hell would you feed them that?"

"Because I hate kids, I told you."

Tifa dropped her face in her hands, "Just when I thought you did something nice, you have to ruin it."

"Oh come on, don't be like that." He took her shoulders in his hands. "They'll be just fine. I ate worse stuff growing up."

"Like what?"

"There's this one dish my dad called, 'The Ass Burner'. Though that name doesn't really measure up to the intensity of it."

"What exactly is it?"

"It's a beef dish made with habanero and ghost peppers!"

"Oh good god…"

"Yeah, the first time I ate it my butt bled for a week."

"So gross, why would you tell me that?"

"Because, Sweetheart, I'm a dick."

"At least you can admit it."

Cloud dropped into a chair and looked her up and down. Even in her pajamas she was hot. He'd give anything to fuck her again.

"So…Tifa, were you really serious that you won't have sex with me again?"

"Of course I was!" She shook her fist in front of his face. "I won't cheat on my boyfriend."

"But you already did. What's the harm in doing it again?"

"Before I thought you were him, but now I won't make the same mistake." She crossed her arms and took a step back from him. "Now, don't bring that up again, please?"

"What's a guy supposed to do, Tifa? My balls are fuckin' blue! And jacking off is not cutting it. I need some pussy or I need some ass. Preferably both and preferably yours."

"Why me? Why not one of those sleazy lushes that hangs out in the bar?"

"Because you get jealous for one thing." He grinned darkly, "And because well…I like you Tifa. I do. And I'm trying really hard to behave."

"I know you are but, just because you behave, that doesn't mean that I'm going to sleep with you. You might not understand it, but I believe in love, Cloud. I only want to be with the man I love. And it's not you."

Cloud just nodded and exhaled sharply.

That night in the bar, Cloud watched for the girl that Tifa had mentioned. Glancing around from table to table, he finally found her. She was sitting at a booth by herself, watching him. She was pretty, with blue eyes and dark brown hair, even her yellow dress was eye catching as it hugged her curves beautifully.

Sure enough she ordered the same thing Cloud was having. With a crooked smile, he nodded at her, lifting his drink in a silent toast to her.

Tifa saw this exchange and had to bite back the urge to say something. She couldn't let her feelings get in the way. He wasn't her Cloud, no matter how much he resembled him, so there was no reason she should be jealous.

Cloud finished his drink and approached the young woman, sliding into the booth beside her. She welcomed him with a bright smile and a victorious glance in Tifa's direction.

"Hey, I'm Cloud."

"I'm Yvette."

"Yvette…" He looked her up and down, deciding she might be enough to satisfy him. "You come here often?"

"Every night."

"Why this place?"

"I like the view." She blushed as she looked into his rich blue eyes.

"Got a thing for Soldiers, do you?"

"I've got a thing for you."

Cloud leaned in to smell her perfume.

Tifa stood by, watching the exchange from a distance. Her stomach was rolling with what-ifs and her heart throbbing angrily in her chest. She tried to act like nothing was wrong, but she dropped a glass, letting it shatter against the concrete floor as she saw Cloud take Yvette's hand and lead her upstairs. Tifa stood there dumbfounded, the glass at her feet.

Cloud and Yvette had already begun kissing and trying to undress as they pushed open the door to Tifa's bedroom. She pushed him down onto the bed and straddled his hips.

No sooner did he have his pants pulled down did he realize what room they were in. A photo of his doppelganger and Tifa sat on the nightstand, the two of them looking cute and coupley. He stared at Tifa, wanting it to be her as he felt Yvette's lips close around his shaft.

Letting his eyes close and his head roll back, he tried not to think about Tifa, regardless of how much he'd rather be with her. But she'd made it clear it wasn't going to happen. It was, however, happening with Yvette…Did he really want it though?

It seemed the more pleasure the girl gave him, guiltier he felt. But why? It couldn't be because they were doing it in Tifa's room. It couldn't be because he didn't know the girl. It couldn't be because he wanted no one but Tifa. But it was all those things.

"Get off…" He husked.

"I can't…it's so good…"

"I said get off."

"No…"

"Get off you fuckin' whore!" He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her off of him.

She landed on the floor, looking up at him as if he'd gone completely nuts. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting dressed." He said, zipping up his pants.

"But…"

"I want you out of here. I want you gone and to never come back."

"I don't understand."

"Understand this – One, you are a slut. Two, your pick up lines are weak. And three, I just realized that I can't be unfaithful to Tifa."

"Why? She's a slut too. No telling how many guys that thing's fucked."

"That 'thing' is my girlfriend. She has only been with one man and that's me. Yeah, we're in a rough patch, but she's enough for me. Now leave."

Yvette scoffed at him, "Fuck you, asshole."

"Only in your dreams, bitch."

Cloud followed her down as she left, pausing at the doorway just in time to catch Tifa's surprised expression as Yvette ran out the door red in the face.

She was the last guest to leave as Tifa locked the door behind her. She leaned her head against the glass as she turned the sign around to closed.

"I thought you had blue balls." She whispered, an indignant smile on her face.

"I do. But she wasn't the cure." Cloud crept up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the back of her neck. "I've never felt this way before Tifa. I've never felt the guilt of being with someone when the one who needs me most is waiting elsewhere."

"You never felt guilty for cheating on Tiffan?"

"Never. But I feel guilty for cheating on you." He turned her around to see her face. Her eyes were red around the edges and her lip was quivering. "I'm changing; being here is making me look at things differently. It's fucking scary, Tifa…But I want to change. I want to change so I can be who you need me to be."