AN: Set when Cloud finds Tifa after her fight with Loz, collapsed in the church... Angst and sadness up ahead!
Trust
Cloud had walked slowly towards the abandoned old church, his present sanctuary, the only place he considered to have some peace of mind there. The Geostigma infesting his arm suddenly didn't seem so insistent, perhaps it had been because of the holy aura surrounding the building or perhaps because of the many memories and people he associated with it that had a calming effect on him.
What he didn't expect to find in his sanctuary was an unconscious Tifa covered with injuries in the flowerbed and as he rushed to her side, he suddenly noticed a few more broken walls and pillars than before.
Fear had his heart in a tight, almost suffocating vice grip and Cloud struggled to keep his emotions in check as he slid an arm under Tifa and propped his knee up to carefully rest her head and back against it, straightening her in order to see her better.
Her face was smudged with dirt and bruises, her arms showing off new wounds and what appeared to be red marks lining the expanse of her arms. Her clothes were dusty and her legs showed signs of bruises here and there, her gloves were on and Cloud could only deduce in his fear raddled mind that she had fought with a strong opponent to suffer such injuries.
It weren't the sizes of the injuries that made him sweat with trepidation, it was the fact that Tifa even had them. Anything that managed to inflict injuries upon Tifa Lockhart was worthy of being called a strong opponent, since not everybody could touch let alone bruise the expert martial artist.
Cloud scanned her body from head to toe again, not recognizing his own voice as he called out to her, "Tifa!"
Images of Nibelheim and the destruction of their village flashed in his mind and he willed them away, a blur of green and Sephiroth repeatedly entering his field of vision before fear had him calling out her name again, this time louder, the fear momentarily breaking his tough exterior to enter his voice, "Tifa!" he gently shook her, intently gazing on her face to search for a reaction.
His eyes, if one looked carefully, always gave way his emotions and not many knew that when trying to read him. Right now, they were filled with fear and concern, berating himself for always being so late, for breaking their promise, for not thinking things through and making everything worse by leaving Tifa and the kids like he did.
Before he had any more time to dwell on that, he saw her squirm and slowly open her eyes just a small fraction, "Ugh...you're...late,"
Her words were very soft and just barely above a whisper, but Cloud had heard her loud and clear and he couldn't agree more with her like at this moment.
"What happened? Who did this?" he found his voice suddenly coming out as strong, angry. Cloud always made sure to keep his emotions carefully guarded, like a treasure he wanted to keep hidden from the world, but somehow, around her, he found his resolve breaking more than once.
"Someone...some guy...we fought..." Tifa murmured in a daze and Cloud mentally commanded himself as soon as he leaned her against a wall properly to heal her wounds with a healing materia stored in his chest.
"Marlene!" Tifa suddenly started, body thrusting forwards into a abrupt move before fatigue hit her and she collapsed back in Cloud's waiting arms, eyes closed and breathing deepening in exhaustion.
Cloud's eyes widened and he quickly surveyed his surroundings, looking at every possible corner of the church he could see, trying to find that beautiful bright face of his adoptive daughter but saw none. His materia chest was also missing.
"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, grip tightening around Tifa when he felt a wave of nausea suddenly hit him.
Geostigma.
Black liquid started oozing down the black material of his gloves and he struggled to hold himself and Tifa upright, fighting against the onslaught of pain overwhelming his senses and the blurs of green swimming in his vision.
He registered his tight grip on Tifa suddenly slacking, his world spinning and the weight of his body falling forward, hitting the soft bed of flowers beneath him as his world turned black.
When he slowly opened his eyes, he could feel the familiar after effects lingering in him, of another Geostigma attack, his body hit with fatigue and a sense of weakness he hadn't felt since the death of Zack.
He recognized the ceiling he was staring into, recognized the soft mattress beneath his frame and the short bed supporting his larger build, he registered the toys scattered around the room and he registered the woman laying on the bed opposite of his, still unconscious.
Cloud stood up from the bed, looking around, recognizing the room to be that of Denzel and Marlene back in Seventh Heaven.
They were back home but...how? How did they get there? He remembered collapsing in the church with Tifa in his arms, so who could have found them and brought them here?
He looked down at Tifa, her hands folded on her stomach, she was clean, someone cleaned the dirt and wounds from her, she looked...like she was sleeping. Tifa...
"You know, you were pretty heavy," Cloud turned around, spotting none other than Reno and Rude stationary by the door.
So it was them...
"Weren't there...some kids living with you?" Rude suddenly asked and a cold sensation ran down Cloud's spine, realizing Denzel and Marlene were gone. Marlene must have gotten kidnapped by that man Tifa fought but where was Denzel? Did he come for Denzel too? He must have since Rude said nobody was home...
"Cause they ain't here..." Reno piped in and Cloud had the sudden urge to punch him.
He lowered his head, trying to think of what the remnants could possibly want with Denzel and Marlene until Rude spoke again, almost coldly so, "You don't care?"
Of course, he cared. It was him that found Denzel in front of the church after all, who brought him home and eventually grew to treat him as something of his own son until he distanced himself when he found out he had Geostigma himself. Marlene had been the sweetest angel to have ever walked through the bar, he remembered her drawings of him and Tifa and Barret, family drawings...
He cared...he did...it was just..."I can't even save one of them..." he remained silent, gaze downcast, "I just..." he tried to force words out of his mouth, prove them wrong, prove that he did care, but words would seem empty to them so he didn't.
He looked back at Tifa and regret filled him quickly.
Reno observed him quietly from the side, reading his expression and sighing in exasperation, "You're a real handful," the two Turks made their way out of the room and Rude slammed the door shut as the sound echoed in Cloud's ears.
He sighed, feeling a bit more at ease at being alone now to organize his thoughts and what to do.
The kids were missing, Tifa fought someone strong that injured her, it must have been one of the remnants, but the question was what could they want with Marlene and Denzel? Did they want to lure him out? Hurt them so he would come out and fight them? Did they still think he had their 'mother'?
Cloud clenched his jaw, moving toward the window and back, pacing back and forth quietly. He didn't understand any of this, what could they gain by another confrontation? Denzel had the Stigma, did they know that? Could they use it to their advantage?
Cloud shook his head, "It's no use," he looked back at Tifa, "Tifa..." words always failed him when he looked at her.
But that hadn't been the case once upon a time, there actually had been a time where they were able to talk to each-other without the guilt trips, the guarded expressions and the tense silence. That had been a time before he left. Cloud sighed and waited.
I'm sorry, Tifa.
Ugh, nothing but a sad chapter T_T Thank you for reading everyone and please review! Reviews are what bring me back to life! :)
