Chapter 52: Faulty Conclusions

Tifa stood on the veranda with a thin quilt wrapped around her, listening to the sounds of the night. The sliding door to her bedroom was pushed open behind her and Denzel and Marlene was piled up on her cushioned sleeping mat and sound asleep. She couldn't stop herself from stealing glances over her shoulder at them from time to time. Just… to see them and know they were real and really there.

They'd all stayed up late and the adults had drunk perhaps a bit too much of the wine that had proved not to be as weak as it had looked at first. Cloud's family had been in another section of the country they'd found out and so it had just been their small group. Tifa had been glad. There had been a lot of stories to tell and memories to relive and emotions to catch up on. Only one subject had been carefully avoided.

That was why Tifa was standing on the porch instead of curled up with her siblings, listening to the faint sound of the city that managed to filter through the dark of the night and the gardens surrounding the building. She was patient, she had all night. She wouldn't have minded sleeping with Aerith and Cloud and Red in the room as well but apparently everyone had thought that she should have her siblings to herself and visa versa and Tifa hadn't thought it was a bad idea. Though Denzel was starting to reach even his large limit when it came to being snuggled constantly.

The thought made her smile and she turned her head back away from where she could see them sleeping to look into the garden beyond. And saw a familiar dark shape standing in the middle of one of the moonlight paths. Tifa inhaled a content breath and stayed where she was. Waiting. After a long moment the figure moved over to the porch and easily vaulted the rail to land softly in front of her. She gave him a smile.

"I was wondering when you were going to come back."

"You knew I'd come back?" Zack asked and she shrugged a shoulder with a soft smile.

"You're part of our group. We all made that promise. I knew you'd come eventually."

His exhale was a laugh and it held traces of bitterness but he sat down on the railing he'd just vaulted and on bare feet Tifa walked over to sit down next to him, leaning her shoulder against his.

"Sure you want me?" his voice was low in the dark. "I'm not supposed to be me."

Tifa shook her head, unconcerned.

"You're Zack," she stated simply. "Whether you're the Zack that they remember or not, you're still you. And that's Zack."

"I get why Cloud loves you."

It made her exhale a chuckling sound. If only Cloud would be in love with her instead of just loving her. For a long time they sat together in silence.

"So, your friend – she was in love with me?"

Tifa nodded.

"I met her after but – yeah. She wouldn't talk about it unless she was drunk and that's about as rare as a blue moon but – you were her first love. She wrote – I don't know how many dozens of letters – every week or two. I guess she held out hope a lot longer than I would have because to hear her tell it, she just kept writing and writing, year after year. Even after she'd figured that you were never going to write back. You just – vanished. Never said goodbye or anything."

"Which would make me a jerk," Zack pointed out and Tifa gave him a smile.

"Or not able to answer. Do you really not remember?"

Zack shook his head and then exhaled and lowered it.

"Not a thing. I mean, I'd say you're all crazy but – "

"That would be all of us?"

"Well, not you. Unless you remember me doing something I don't?"

"There was that time you dressed up in the pink lion outfit," Tifa teased and the non-existent event had Zack laughing quietly.

"Yeah, okay. So we're on the same page at least."

Tifa had been thinking about it and so now she asked him:

"Do you think someone could have messed with your memories? Done something to switch them around?"

Zack's shoulder shrugged against hers.

"Maybe. But I don't know why anyone would bother. And your friend said something about a scar I don't have."

Tifa exhaled and nodded. Raised her face to look up at Zack.

"But you'll stay? So we can figure this out together?"

Zack gave an exhaled laugh as he stood up. Looking down at her in the moonlight,his smile was crooked.

"Yeah, Teef. I'll stay. You're my team, right?"

He held out his hand and Tifa rested hers over the top of it. Something in the shadows beyond them shifted and, even though it surprised Tifa when Cloud stepped out of them, Zack didn't seem caught off guard. Cloud walked over and very simply laid his hand over theirs. His eyes, glowing blue, met Zack's own eyes and that seemed to be enough. Zack nodded.

"Besides – I have to figure out what's going on, don't I? I'll stay."

He actually left after that but it was only to go find his room and get some sleep. Tifa stayed where she was on the railing and Cloud sat down next to her after a minute. Together they both watched Zack stride off.

"Watching over me?" Tifa asked softly and Cloud turned his head in the moonlight to look at her. His lips shifted into a soft smile.

"Couldn't sleep," he admitted.

"There's no one there." He looked at her in surprise when she said it and she gave him a smile and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder.

"When was the last time you slept alone without being able to hear other people in the room with you?" she asked mildly. "Not since my house at least. You get used to having other people around and not being able to hear them after hearing them for so long starts to sound wrong."

He made a low sound in his throat and it made her smile again. She shut her eyes after sneaking another peek at her sleeping siblings. After a moment his arm shifted to slip around her and she leaned into the comfort of him. Her fault – she'd gotten used to sleeping near Cloud Strife and now it wasn't right unless he was there anymore.

She was setting herself up for such a long lasting heartache. It made her wonder how Aerith only got drunk over hers once a year.

"Tifa…"

She waited but he didn't go beyond the sudden hesitation after her name and she made a soft, drowsy noise of query finally. His chin brushed against the top of her head where he had rested it.

"Nothing" he murmured softly. "Just… nothing."

Tifa made a soft noise and turned to nuzzle her nose against his shoulder. Now that he was here, she was starting to feel drowsy. Now that her world was whole again. He'd tell her – if it was important, he'd tell her eventually.

For a long time they sat that way and finally, he made a low sound in his throat and slipped his arms around Tifa to lift her. Half-asleep she turned her face into his chest as he carried her back into her room and settled her down against her brother and sister. She wanted him to stay. To curl up with them the way he had so long ago in Seventh Heaven. But she knew – if people had paid attention before they would even more here. He was a hero and probably couldn't sneeze without people noticing. So she didn't say anything… but she couldn't stop her fingers from curling in his shirt. He leaned low over all three of them, her and her siblings and stayed that way for a long moment. Protective and covering. Finally, he slipped out of her fingers and though half lidded eyes she watched him walk out the door.

He left it open though and took up a spot just outside it, shifting down in the shadows to raise a leg and tip his head back against the pillar. It made her smile and she fell asleep knowing he was there.

When the morning sun stretched in from the door and woke her up, Cloud was gone. But it made something inside Tifa warm and weak – that he'd stayed there in the dark. Denzel and Marlene, oblivious to all of it, were full of talk and energy as they showed her around the large house and showed her where everything was that she'd need to get ready for the day. She made it a mental note to buy some new clothes. The only ones she had were a bit ragged at the edges.

Zack never had gotten his tiki head shirt in Costa del Sol.

Breakfast was apparently a household routine and so before it was time to head that way, Tifa knocked on Aerith's door and let herself in. Denzel and Marlene, reluctantly, had gone off to find Cloud. Not reluctant to spend time with Cloud – reluctant to let Tifa out of their sight. She'd thought it might be best though.

"Good morning," Aerith was in front of her mirror with a brush in one hand and her usual pink ribbon in the other. Smile brilliant. And not fooling Tifa for a second.

"Hey," she greeted her friend and moved over to take the brush from her and start combing through the wavy, brown hair.

"Did you sleep good last night? I've got to admit I've gotten so used to Marlene and Denzel sleeping with me that I didn't get any sleep at all last night," Aerith excused the dark circles under her eyes.

"You'll have to sleep with us from now on," Tifa murmured as the brush moved.

"I'd like that," for just a moment her friend's voice went watery and Tifa let go of the brush to wrap both of her arms around Aerith's shoulders.

"I said I wasn't going to cry," Aerith managed. "Not for him. Not ever again."

"He doesn't remember," Tifa began and Aerith shook her head.

"Not him. My Zack. I know – I know he's dead now. That's – that's not him. It's not!" She was shaking her head violently by the end and the tears she'd sworn not to cry were dripping down her cheeks.

"My Zack had a scar on his jaw. Right here. And – his eyes were different. Inside them. They looked different. That's not my Zack. Just – just someone that looks and sounds like him." Aerith had buried her face in her hands by now and Tifa wrapped her arms tighter around her friend and pulled her close, holding her protectively. The only Zack she knew was the one she'd met in the Shinra reactor. She couldn't imagine him being anyone else. But – how would she feel if Cloud came back to her... not Cloud?

"No. He's not your Zack," Tifa answered and put surety into her voice. "He's just a good man that happens to look like someone you remember. That's all. He just happens to have the same name. But he's not your Zack. He won't try to be and you don't have to try to pretend he is. He's just some guy that looks like someone you once knew."

Aerith nodded weakly against Tifa's shoulder and inhaled a couple of shaky breaths.

"Right. He's just some guy. Not my guy. Like – a brother. Or a cousin. Just somebody that looks like the man I remember."

"Yeah," Tifa nodded. "I think he'd be okay with that too. Your Zack would never forget you. Or Cloud. This is just his cousin who didn't realize how like him he looked."

It was a lie but it was a sane lie. Which was much better than whatever the insane truth was. Aerith nodded and wiped at her cheeks with her hands, still leaning into Tifa.

"Just some guy," she repeated and nodded firmly. "Will you – " she held up the ribbon she'd worn as long as Tifa had known her, an almost defiant light starting in her green eyes. "Will you put this in my hair for me?"

"Yeah," Tifa smoothed her friend's hair back into a ponytail and tied the ribbon dutifully in place. "How's that?"

Aerith looked at her reflection in the mirror, and the pink ribbon, and she nodded firmly.

"That's just the way it's supposed to be," she stated and then she stood up and brushed her hands down over her dress before linking her arm though Tifa's. Her smile was bright again and it helped hid what was in her eyes.

"Shall we go to breakfast before they lock us out?"

Zack came to breakfast too and he sat next to Cloud at the table. Tifa hadn't thought he'd run. He was apparently done apologizing too – if he'd ever been tempted to apologize in the first place. He teased Cloud, coaxed Marlene and Denzel into talking, ate huge amounts of food and winked at Tifa across the table. And he firmly refused to either avoid or pay attention to Aerith. Who seemed to stiffen up at the treatment and by the middle of breakfast she was treating him the exact same way and carrying on a running commentary with Marlene for Tifa about what Wutai had to offer in the way of interesting things. Tifa noticed the tension and the lightening in the air but it was better than tears or shrinking and so she didn't do anything to try to break it. Her friend was always at her best when she was in a fighting mood.

The door to the room burst open just as breakfast was finishing and before anyone could really move, Cloud was getting bowled over backward off of the cushion he'd been kneeling on, a enthusiastic Yuffie wrapped around him. And right on the heels of that –

"Baby girl!"

Tifa scrambled to her feet to rush over to Barrett and throw her arms around his familiar huge bulk. She'd been assured last night that the only person they'd lost was her father but… it was still impossibly important to be able to touch and hug Barrett. He had been in her life almost as long as Denzel and was her sometimes father figure, sometimes wandering brother, sometimes older friend. He wrapped her in his arms as well as he could without grinding the metal of his gun arm into her and picked her up to spin around before setting her on her feet. The way he had used to when she was little.

"Barrett!" his name in her voice held all the wonderful emotions seeing him again meant and he grinned, wide and white in response.

"Tifa!"

She turned to see –

"Shera! Cid! Leon!" She couldn't say she'd known them that well but they'd been a constant part of her life for those few weeks and then again a constant part of her thoughts afterward.

"Spiky! I hear my girl busted your butt out of Shinra prison!" Barrett was cheerful enough to include Cloud in his welcome in the background and Tifa threw her arms around Shera in an enthusiastic hug that was returned. It was wonderful to see the other woman without the paleness that her wound had caused. Reaching out, Tifa grabbed Cid's shirtfront and dragged him into the hug as well. He sputtered a surprised curse as he found himself tangled in their arms as well.

"You women gotta get offa me," his voice grated but Tifa noticed he didn't fight them. She also noticed the way Shera leaned into the bigger man using the excuse of 'group hug'. Then she was being jerked out of it and found herself up against –

"Leon!" She was just in the process of bursting into a wide smile, because – everyone was all right! They'd all made it and no one was hurt or dead or – the look in Leon's eyes stopped her suddenly and her own eyes went huge in response. He didn't look happy – he looked –

"I should have done this months ago," his voice was as rough as gravel and he caught her face in his both of his gloved hands and brought his mouth down over hers.

.0.

was that what you were yelling for in the background of the phone conversation a couple weeks ago, AmascusMage?