Lockhart007
Before I start can I just say, to the reviewers that are not happy that Tifa kissed Reno and not telling Cloud last chapter – I have explanations for this that I didn't write clear: Reason A. She was mentally and physically weak when she kissed him – she regretted it straight away and reason B. She wasn't able to tell Cloud about it straight away because she didn't have time and she knows it would cause a fight to break out – something that she doesn't want to happen. And she didn't want to tell him over the phone. And C: The little kiss in front of Cloud, yes she blushed but Cloud interfered before she could say/do anything. And by that point, she just didn't care anymore. She did say she would tell Cloud about it when they were alone.
Sorry for the little rant but please, thank you for the review and everything and sorry for pissing you off, but please, wait until I upload chapters to explain things in the story before you say something. And sorry if I seem to be a bit bitchy while saying that because really, I'm not trying to make out that I am :) still love you all 3
And yes, I'm aware, as I said before; this is kinda like a cheap Twilight. I'm sorry that I'm not able to stop that. You can't have a Vampire/Human/Werewolf romance story without it automatically being compared to it.
Right, back to the story - This chapter was inspired by the film Hostel, so don't expect anything happy and fluffy. Call it a crap copy of another film if you wish because I know it is.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Everything was silent and why was her head hurting – again? She groaned and opened her eyes, her sight hitting nothing but darkness. Only a small light could be seen from the corner of her eyes. Looking around, from what she could see, she was in a dark, dirty room, covered in broken glass, wood and metal. She tried to move, but for the second time that day, she found herself strapped down to something, this time it was a chair. Her legs were bound to the chairs and her hands tied behind her with chains. Growling, she tried to wriggle her way out of them, bucking up and down in the chair but it was nailed to the floor. She knew there was no use in crying out for help, knew she was being kept in an abandoned house, far away from human ears. She glanced around, hoping to see something that could come to some use – nothing.
She knew her phone was in her pocket, but with her hands tied, she couldn't reach it. Growling again, she clamped her eyes shut and let out a lot of pent up anger through breathing. Just as she thought her day couldn't get any worst, she heard footsteps coming closer to her. Her eyes opened and she was only half surprised to see her enemy stood there with a wicked smile on his face.
"Johnny" she snarled as she glared at the redhead who held a knife in his hand, "What are you going to do this time?"
Johnny, who twirled his weapon in his fingers, didn't answer her straight away. He was just stood like a rock, grinning down at his captive. He ran a finger down the blade and said smoothly, "Scared?"
"More pissed off" she replied, eyeing the knife cautiously, "Not much scares me anymore"
Johnny didn't seem pleased with his answer, his hand holding the knife pausing with its ministrations before continuing again. "Oh?" he muttered, "So your impending death to me isn't scaring you in the least right now?"
"I've been in worst situations" she said, attempting to shrug but unable too. "Why don't you untie me, think of something better then try again?"
"And give you the chance of fighting back? No thanks. I like this better" he sneered, using the tip of the knife to pick at his yellow teeth, "But if I think of something better in the future, I'll be sure to try it on my next victim. You see, there are a lot of people out there that I want dead and unfortunately for you, you're on the top of my very long list. I was only given a few hours to set this up. I knew you were still around here when I was talking to my little friend. Young girls, how gullible"
"What does that mean?" she snarled, "Who were you talking to?"
"Since my name is all over the place, I've been forced to use an alias" he replied, "So to everyone else, I've been going under the name of Jacob Hepworth. Does that ring any bells?"
She nodded numbly, remembering Shelke mention that name to her. She then gasped.
"Shelke?" she yelped, suddenly worried for the young girl rather than herself, "What have you been doing to her?"
"Oh nothing" Johnny replied, examining his blade with nonchalance, "I didn't even want to associate myself with such a runt like her, but when I heard your name come from her lips, I understandably got interested. I was planning to hunt you down later in the week but by luck, you crossed my path yourself and it was lucky that I had that chloroform with me; it was intended for another person rather than you. Oh, lady luck is sure shining down on me today"
"Killing me will do nothing to help you" she said, "There will be others to hunt you down. You'll be back inside before you can get to the next person on your murder list. Why don't you just give up? You can't hide forever"
Suddenly he was upon her, knife point in direct line of her forehead, his beetle black eyes boring into hers, his teeth grit together. "Are you telling me what to do? I don't like being told what to do. Do you know what happens when I'm told what to do?"
"Humour me" she whispered, keeping her cool.
Johnny smirked evilly then slashed her face with his weapon, creating a gash that ran from her right cheek, across the bridge of her nose and over her left one. Her blood splattered the rest of her face, her clothes, the knife and also across her attacker. Gasping out in pain, eyes watering, she struggled against her bonds, only to be slapped for her efforts.
"Now" he said coldly, grabbing her hair to force her to look directly at him, "What was it that you were saying?"
Words left her, not sure whether to be scared or angry. Being a fool, she chose the latter and spat into his face, her spittle sliding down his gore covered cheek. Snarling, he back handed her and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to be winded.
"You little whore-" he spat, striking out with the knife again and slicing a deep cut across her left shoulder, "-stupid bitch-" a slice cut across her other shoulder "-filthy tramp!" and with that last insult, he jammed the knife into her side and left it there, like a violent wonky flag. She let out a shriek at the assault, a single tear coming out of her wide eyes. He roughly grabbed her chin and hissed, "Scared now?"
"No" she managed to breath out, keeping eye contact with him.
Smirking, he released her and went over to the other side of the room where he picked up a red plastic barrel with 'flammable' written across it in white. He smiled when he saw her eyes widen even further, "How about now?" he said.
"This is going too far" she yelped as he unscrewed the top of it, "You can't do-"
Her cheek stung from the third blow he had given her, the skin turning bright red and the air gasping out of her lungs.
"Do not tell me what I can and cannot do!" he screamed, his eyes bulging out of his head and his red hair on end, the full petrol barrel swinging limply from the hand that had not hit her. "You have made the last few years of my life a living hell! You don't know what it's like to get beaten by fellow inmates every fucking day. You don't know what it's like to be looked down upon by everyone else and you sure as hell cannot make me do something against my will!"
"Think about what you're doing!" she screeched, trying to get through to him. "It's crazy! Too crazy for even you to-"
"SHUT UP" he roared, raising his hand to prepare to strike her again, "This is not crazy, this is revenge. I've thought about it and I've decided to make you're death as painful as possible"
He smirked evilly and began pouring half of the cans contents onto her lap, the smell of the petrol already making her head a little dizzy. "Prepare to leave this world".
"Johnny please" she pleaded, her arms aching with not only her injuries but from the straps that were keeping her bound to the chair, "Don't do this! They'll put you into the electric or gas chair for this! If you stop now, when you get caught, you'll only be behind bars. When they catch you for this, you're as good as dead"
"They won't catch me" he said, pouring petrol around the room, backing towards the door, "But if they do, at least you'll be finally dead"
"John-" she began to say again, but her shouts were interrupted by something vibrating in her pocket. Horrified, she looked down at where her phone was kept and dumbly yelled out help, forgetting in her panic that the phone needed to be answered before the caller could hear her.
Putting the still half full barrel on the floor, Johnny approached with a smirk on his face. He reached down into her pocket and looked at who was calling.
"Cloud" he read, watching her face look hopeful for a second, "Is this the guy who stopped me from shooting you that day?" he laughed, "Shame he can't save you now, but-" he dropped her phone on the petrol soaked floor besides her, his face all too happy "-if you can reach your phone, you can answer it. That's how nice I am"
Instinctively, she stretched her foot towards it, hoping to hit the answer button so she could shout for help down it. She screamed out in despair when it stopped ringing for it to go to her answerphone. A few moments later, it began ringing again.
"Persistent bastard isn't he?" Johnny laughed as he toed her phone further away from her foot that was only centimetres away from its target. "Tell me, how long would it take for this house to burn when I set the petrol alight? Ten minutes? Twenty? I wish I had more time to plan this out, I would love to have installed a camera in this room just to watch you burn"
"You fucking bastard" she screamed, she eyes glued to the still ringing phone, "I hope you spend an eternity in Hell for this. I hope you die in the sickest, goriest, most inhumane way possible and I hope you suffer! Gaia, I hope you suffer"
His face dropped slightly, "Now that wasn't very nice, was it? I was thinking of giving you back your phone just to see what you would say but now I've changed my mind. Oh well"
He then picked up the barrel again and went over to the door. He looked over his shoulder and said, "See you in Hell then" and left the room, trailing a line of petrol behind him, whistling a jolly tune. He got to the middle of the stairs and got out a lighter. He threw the barrel up onto the landing, jogged down the last steps to get away from the impending blaze and lit up a cigarette, taking a big drag of it before flicking it up towards the petrol and leaving after he made sure that his plan was going right.
Back upstairs, the phone stopped ringing and Tifa was struggling against her bonds, rocking the lightly nailed chair back and forth, hoping to get it unattached from the floor so that she could reach her phone the next time it rang. Her heart stopped momentarily as smoke started to drift into the room. Her phone bleeped and she looked at it to see that Cloud had left her a text message instead, probably wondering where she was and if she was ok.
"I'm sorry" she yelled at it, tears falling to the floor, "I'm so sorry Cloud. If I get out of here I'm never leaving you! I won't let anyone get in our way, I promise. Oh Gaia, why does it have to end like this?"
She let out a dry cough as the smoke hit her and went down her lungs. Her petrol soaked legs shook so much that the floor boards underneath her began rattling. Not ready to give up, she tried to squeeze her hands out of the chains that bound them together while at the same time, rocking the slowly weakening chair back and forth. Her phone rang again for the third time and that was what made her push harder. She was not going to die like this. Her stupid ringtone was not going to be the last thing she heard and Johnny was certainly not going to be the last person she ever saw.
Gritting her teeth, she used her quivering legs to pull the back legs of the chair from the floorboard, the knife still in her side inching further into her body as she doubled over. Gasping out in pain, she relaxed for a second and began rocking from side to side, hoping to get to the now silent phone. She almost cried out in relief as one of the legs ripped from the floorboard, causing her to be sat lopsided. She spat on the floor with a mixture of mucus and blood that had fallen from her slashed face and tugged again. For the first time in years, she prayed. Her weakened mind come up with a conclusion – even if she managed to get to the phone and get hold of Cloud, would he be able to get to her before the flames that were now entering the room did? He would know that she was in danger but not be able to get to her before she burnt – she didn't even know where she was. She yelped when the other chair leg became free and she found herself on her side on the floor, her head right next to the phone. She inched her way over to it and used her chin to press buttons in the hope of calling her boyfriend. Since her buttons were so small, she accidently put it on video record.
"Typical" she hissed, tried to press the stop button, "Why didn't I put him on speed dial?"
Pressing fruitlessly with her chin, her blood ran cold when she pressed the wrong button and her screen went black – she had pressed the off button!
"No" she whispered, trying to turn it back on again, "Don't do this to me! DON'T YOU DARE!"
And as the heat reached her, she did the only thing she could – scream.
"HELP" she yelled, her voice spluttering because of the smoke, "SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! HELP ME, PLEASE! HELP! HEEEELP!" but she felt it was useless as the flames reached her petrol soaked body.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
"She's not fucking answering" Cloud growling as his third try at calling her failed, "This is your fault"
"My fault" Reno said. Crossing his arms as they walked down an abandoned street, "If you hadn't of started an argument with me, she wouldn't have walked off in the first place. I was looking after her just fine"
"If you hadn't of kissed her, I wouldn't have intervened. She doesn't like you. What part of that do you not understand?"
"If she doesn't like me then why did she kiss me?" Reno scowled.
Clouds eyes narrowed, "She did none of the sort" he spat, "Now you're just making shit up"
"Am I?" Reno smirked, happy at having the upper hand, "She kissed me and she loved it. Nothing more and nothing less. She's too much for you to keep hold of; she's going to leave you sooner than you think. You're just a miserable, old man who cannot give her what she needs"
"And you can?" Cloud scoffed, "Look, us arguing is getting us nowhere nearer to finding her. She must be in trouble if she's not answering a call from me"
"I hate to admit it but you're right. She is more important that our timeless feud. Let's split up – you that way and I'll go this way. Unless you have a better plan"
Cloud huffed, not happy with taking orders from the other, "Fine, but if you see her, call me immediately"
"And vice versa" Reno grunted, "You're not the only one who cares for her"
The blond closed his eyes and reframed from turning around and punching the other man in the face, but them arguing had gotten them into this predicament in the first place, so he just thrust his balled fists into his pockets and walked off in the direction he was instructed, "Whatever" he muttered.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
She continued screaming, screaming out in horror and pain. The fire was only centimetres from her and she could already feel the pain it would inflict on her. Trying to turn her phone on again whilst struggling against her bonds, she still cried out of help. Help that probably wouldn't come. Coughing and crying, she felt her head become dizzy due to the toxic fumes.
"Anybody" she whispered, so low she couldn't even hear herself, "Please, please help. Please"
Brain too hazy, it didn't register when a door banged open, when footsteps charged up stairs and didn't even see the figure of a man that entered the room and released her for her bonds, patting down her flame licked legs.
"It's ok now, Tifa" the man said, something she didn't really hear, "You're safe".
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Beeps were all she could hear. Was this what Hell sounded like – constant, irritating beeps? She opened her eyes and all she could see was white. She looked down and saw she was still wearing the clothes that she had worn when she had died. Looking around, she felt like she was enveloped in a box made out of paper. Wherever she looked, there was nothing but pure, blinding white. Was this the eternal damnation? Was this were she was meant to spend the rest of her days, wandering nothingness? Her voice hitched, she would never see her loved ones again. Her father, Aerith, her work colleagues or Cloud.
Cloud.
This was why she was here. She had betrayed him, misused his trust. Had taken it in her hand and scrunched it up, throwing it in a bin where it would rot. He had given her his love and she had chucked it back in his face. Falling to her knees, she threw her face into her shaking hands.
She deserved to be here, this was her place and she accepted it. She would happily spend forever here if it meant she could finally forgive herself and maybe receive the forgiveness from the man she loved.
"Tifa"
Removing her hands from her face, she looked around and saw nobody.
"Tifa"
She looked up and saw a hand, coming out of nowhere, reaching down to her. There was no body attached to the hand, just a voice.
"Come on, they're all waiting for you" the angelic voice said.
She recognised this voice; it was a voice from her childhood, one she hadn't heard in years.
"M-Mother?" she whispered, reaching out so that their fingertips just grazed each other, "Is that you?"
"It's time to go, everyone is missing you"
She smiled as she took the hand fully, warmth running down her arm and circulating around her body. A blinding light surrounded her and took her body away from the white box she was trapped in.
She was going home.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Those beeps again, why had they followed her here? Wasn't this place with her mother supposed to be heaven? So why where those annoying beeps still with her? She opened her eyes, expecting to see the beautiful face of her deceased mother, but another face, this one male, was coming into focus instead. Blue eyes pierced through the blurs and she almost wept when her confused brain recognised who they belonged to.
"Clo-Clo-"
"Sshh" he whispered, caressing her slashed face, "You're fine now. Babe, I am so sorry, this is my entire fault"
"N-no" she whispered, reaching up slowly to place her hand over his, "It's no one's fault"
Cloud didn't seem convinced, looking down mournfully, "If I wasn't being so damn stupid, I wouldn't have lost sight of you and you wouldn't have . . . what did happen? Zack said he got you out of a burning building"
Tifa nodded then paused, thinking, "Zack?"
Cloud frowned even further, "Yeah, he said something about hearing screams for help when he was with Angeal or something and that he went to investigate where he saw that a building was on fire and that someone was inside. He got you out and called the fire department. They arrived before the building was really alight"
"Oh" she said dully, turning away from his face and towards the monitor she was hooked up to. Little arches went up and down on the screen, showing that her heart rate was doing just fine. The sheets that were over her were a sky blue and the walls were a pale yellow. Hospitals really needed to get a designer in; the colour scheme was enough to make anyone sick.
"Tifa" Cloud said deeply, making her look back at him, his eyes still down, "What happened?"
She sighed, "I was attacked" she replied, making him look even guiltier, "Remember Johnny? The one that shot me and the one you saved me from?" he nodded and she continued, "He used chloroform to knock me out and then dragged me to a building where he strapped me to a chair and hurt me. Then he poured petrol all over the place and set it alight"
"That all?" he winced.
"Yeah" she said, wanting to cry when she saw him look so down, "I tried to get to my phone when you rang, I really did. But I couldn't reach my phone and when I tried to call back, I accidently turned it off. I'm sorry"
"No" he yelped, carefully and reluctantly taking her hand into his, brushing her skin with his thumb, "None of it is your fault. It's mine. If I wasn't so busy arguing with Reno, you wouldn't have wandered off"
She gulped, tears falling down her face and onto the cream coloured pillow her head was propped up on, "I have an awful confession" she whispered, "I don't want to tell you because I'm scared I will lose you, but you have a right to know"
He nodded, showing that he was listening. She took in a deep breath and scrunched her eyes shut, not wanting to watch her world collapse around her. "I kissed Reno" she admitted, "Yesterday. Something happened and I kissed him"
"I know" Cloud said after a moment of silence.
Her eyes burst open and she gazed, open mouthed at him, "How?"
Cloud sighed, "Me and him were having an argument. It was obvious he wanted to shout it out the moment he saw me. But, it doesn't matter. It was in the past"
"But I was unfaithful" she moaned, "I kissed another man!"
"And I've done things I regret but they are in the past. It doesn't matter. It's in the past. I would have been more hurt if you didn't tell me. I'll forgive you if you forgive me"
"Forgive you for what?"
He paused then said lowly, "For not saving you".
"It wasn't your fault" she bawled, "It was mine. I'm to blame for my mistakes, not you. You were just protecting me when I foolishly walked away. You were being the most amazing boyfriend ever and I was being the worst girlfriend ever. I'm ashamed to call myself that, I don't deserve you"
"Don't say that" he said, "You have been nothing but perfect. I don't know what I would do if I lost you. I've been shot, stabbed and poisoned but none of that hurt me more than it did when I saw you lifeless in Zacks arms. My life would have ended because now, you are my life. I know it sounds all dramatic and corny but it's true"
She smiled, "I love you so much. Starting now, I'm going to tell you that every day and nothing can stop me. No matter what happens, nothing can keep me from you"
He chuckled, "We're like a set of keys. We're always together, opening doors to new adventures and nothing can keep us apart, even if another key is added to the ring"
"Awww" she cooed, "That was sweet"
He shrugged, "Not really. I read it somewhere and I wanted to say it once. Seemed kind of out of place"
She smiled, "Could you do me a favour?"
"Of course?" he said, "Fluff your pillows? Call a nurse? Are you hurt?"
She shook her head, "Kiss me?"
He blinked then grinned, "Gladly"
He got to his feet and reached over; linking their fingers together as he gently pressed his lips to hers. The kiss didn't last long but it was filled with so much love that it didn't need to be. She sighed with relief but soon frowned when his fingers ghosted over the two marks on her neck.
"This wasn't done in the attack" he said, "Was it?"
Her mouth moved but no words came out. He looked both upset and angry. His body shook with something unknown and he glared at the wall above Tifa's head.
"I . . . I" she stuttered, not sure what to say.
"Not here" he said, "We'll talk in private once you've recovered. The doctors said you have minor second degree burns on your legs, but other than that, you're fine"
"But I was stabbed" she said, moving her hand to where she had been attacked with the blade.
"They said it didn't hit anything vital" he said gloomily, "Said it was stopped going any further by a rib. They've already done the x-rays and stitches"
"Oh" she said before the curtains that shielded them from sight were pulled open and three people came in. Aerith, Zack and a medical intern that Tifa recognised.
"We meet again" Yuffie laughed as she picked up the chart that was attached to the bottom of her bed. Her short hair was tied back, creating the smallest ponytail known to man. She was wearing green scrubs and had a protective mask under her chin. Tifa stared at it, wondering if she was contagious and Yuffie, noticing where the older woman's eye line was directed, smiled and said, "Just came out of an operation. I was observing my boss perform a caesarean, it was rather amazing, to watch a new life be born into the world. But I couldn't live with a child; I think I would be a bad influence on it"
She chuckled and wrote summit down, checked the IV bag and checked Tifa's legs. Tifa winced and flushed – because not only where her legs red and sore when the bandages were removed but because she was only wearing a small gown that didn't really cover everything, so Cloud and Zack had a good view of something. Cloud just smiled and held onto her hand and Zack, who would have blushed if he could, had just looked away instead, not looking back until the covers were back in place.
"Everything seems fine" Yuffie commented, "I'll get a nurse to bandage you back up and you can probably go back home. You'll have to take time off work and if the pain is bad, you may be on crutches, but over than that, you're as healthy as everyone else"
Tifa nodded as Cloud and Aerith thanked her when she left. Aerith, eyes filled with tears from the moment she had entered and saw her friend, came around to her side and practically flung herself over her friend.
"I was so worried" she wailed as Tifa, in momentary shock, just patted the older woman's back, "Zack called me to tell me you were here and I thought you were dead! I broke so many speed limits to get down here. Oh Gaia, what happened?"
Tifa shook her head, not wanting to freak her friend out with the truth. But before she could open her mouth to tell her friend a lie, Zack spoke up instead.
"She was hit by a firework" he said, realising that Tifa didn't want to tell Aerith that she was about to be murdered by a on the run criminal. "Some kids messing about and one of the rockets got loose and hit her"
"And where were you at the time of this attack?" Aerith snapped, watery green eyes glaring at Cloud who slunk back into his seat.
"Aerith, don't blame him" Zack said, "It wasn't like could have jumped in front of the firework himself"
"I was busy arguing with Reno" Cloud muttered, answering the question truthfully. "If I had known that this would have happened, I would have stayed in tonight. Let them two have their little outing. Maybe then, Tifa wouldn't have gotten hurt like this"
"Awww, look at the little fluffy ball of angst" Zack laughed, wrapping an arm around his brother, "Look bro, there was nothing you could do to prevent this. Stop beating yourself up about it. If Tifa forgives you, then forgive yourself, ok?"
Tifa, rather surprised that Cloud hadn't punched his brother for daring to go near him, just nodded and said, "I've already told him it was my fault instead of his. If he stupidly wants to blame himself then I guess I forgive him. But I know it was my fault in the first place. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time"
"But-" Cloud began, but was cut off my Zacks hand covering his mouth.
"One thing about women" Zack smiled, "When they say it was their fault, you go ahead with it, it saves you from a headache further along down the road"
Cloud, rather than be angry was just annoyed, pushing the hand from his face and smirked, "And you're the expert on this?" he asked playfully.
"Of course" he joked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Cloud rolled his eyes and said to Tifa, "Aerith called your father"
"What?" she yelped, sitting up like a rocket, ignoring the sizzling pain that went down her legs and the beeps of the monitor jumping up a notch or two, "You called my dad?"
"He had a right to know his daughter was in trouble" Aerith shrugged, "He said he was on the next plane over. He said he would arrive sometime tomorrow evening"
"You shouldn't have done that" Tifa said, "You know he's way too over protective of me. If he sees me like this, I know he's going to want me to move back to his house until I recover"
"Nibleheim is nice at this time of the year" Cloud said, "The sun, peace and the clean air will do you a world of good. If you father does that, I'll be the first to agree with him. I'll be shoving you on the plane there myself"
Tifa groaned as she flung herself back into her flat pillows, "I haven't even told him I've been dating you. He never likes any of the guys I go out with"
"You haven't told your dad about Cloud?" Aerith asked, rather shocked, "Wow. I've told my mum about Zack and we haven't even been going out for long"
"I think I need some sleep" Tifa muttered, covering her eyes with her hand, "I'm not feeling too good. And no, before you say it, I don't need a nurse. I'll wait until I get my bandages redone and then I'm taking a nap before we leave"
Cloud, his face a picture of happiness and worry, got to his feet and said, "I'll get you one then. Do you want any more pillows too? Those ones seem a bit flat"
"Oh" Aerith piped up before Tifa could reply, "I'll get you some. I'll get you the big squidgy ones that have flower patterns on them. I'll be right back"
Tifa snorted as both of them left, leaving her alone with Zack. Before he could say or do anything she said, "Thank you".
"For getting you out the fire? No problems. Even if I hadn't of been you I still would have gone in to save whoever it was. What's the point of being immortal if you can't risk it by helping others?"
She chuckled, "I see you and Cloud are getting on a bit more"
"Well, saving a guy's girl does make him less angry at you" Zack said sheepishly, "He's decided to have another go at letting me be his brother, and I tell you now, I am not going to mess it up. I've been waiting years for him to finally forgive me and I'm not going to fling it back into his face as soon as he does"
"That's great to hear" she smiled, "Maybe now, the four of us can do something together without you two arguing"
"I hope so" Zack agreed, "I'm not expecting things to go perfect straight away, but I'm happy the way it is at the moment. I think that's the best I can hope for"
Tifa nodded as Aerith came back inside with her arms full of nothing but different coloured and sized pillows, the tower piling above her head, making it almost impossible for her to see.
"I didn't know which ones you wanted so I just grabbed the ones I saw" she replied, dropping them all onto an empty chair, "I couldn't find the flower ones I wanted to get you, but this one has a picture of a cute little puppy on it. I think it's from the children's ward but it was here instead so I grabbed it"
Tifa laughed and said, "I only need one. That blue one in the middle of the pile, that one looks big and fluffy. I'll have that one please"
"You don't want the puppy one?" Aerith asked, cuddling said pillow to her chest, "But it's so cute"
"I know it is, but as you said, it probably came from the children's ward. I'm sure a little kid would be much happier with it than me. Did you see Cloud on your pillow travels?"
Aerith nodded, "He was getting chatted up by some nurse. He didn't even look like he was listening to her really"
Tifa smiled and placed the blue pillow under her head and settled in, "Good" she said happily.
Moments later, when Cloud and a brunette nurse entered and her legs were re-bandaged, the three of them left so that Tifa could get some sleep.
"I'll be here when you wake up" Cloud whispered to her, brushing her fringe to the side and kissing her forehead, "Sweet dreams"
She muttered something that he didn't understand, so he kissed her again and left, head low where he came face to face with his brother.
"I don't know how to thank you" he said, not looking Zack in the eyes, "I really don't"
"Don't mention it" Zack beamed, "You would have done the same if it was Aerith"
Cloud nodded then said lowly, "I've been a complete arse to you. Ever since you got back I've been blaming you for something that happened years ago, something that you couldn't stop. I think I was just looking for someone to blame and you were just there" he looked up with a frown, "You know I didn't mean all of the awful things I said to you, right?"
"I know you didn't" Zack replied, "I don't blame you one bit. Let's just put the past behind us and move on, ok?"
"Ok" Cloud nodded as Zack took the lead walking to the drinks machine, "Urm, I'll be taking the time off work to help look after Tifa, so if you, erm, if you want your job back, it's there waiting for you. I mean, only if you want to do it, of course. You don't have to take it if you don't want too"
But before he could register what had happened, he found himself enveloped in his brother's arms, his body being squeezed like he was prey for a Boa Constrictor.
"Thought you'd never ask" Zack beamed, "I'll come back as long as I get my old job back"
"You were the boss" Cloud grunted, "There's no way you're getting that position back"
"Co-boss?" Zack laughed, holding the blond at arm's length, "C'mon, work with me here"
Cloud rolled his eyes and smiled, "Sure, why not. I hate to admit it but you were almost as good as me. Almost"
"Right" Zack laughed, clapping both of Clouds shoulders, "When do I begin?"
There we are, another chapter. Awww a little happy ending for you there. Now, the next chapters are going to follow both Cloti and Zerith, so hopefully I won't confuse you when I switch between them.
Until next time,
Keza xXx