A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm back! And I finally have the next chapter ready for you all to enjoy! I'm also excitedly counting down the days until the remake comes out!
I had a bit of writer's block for a while, but the ideas finally came pouring out. I hope that it was worth the wait. I kind of have an idea for how I want the story to go, but if you have any suggestions on what you'd like to see, any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Enjoy!
That red, menacing piece of paper and sinking feeling in his gut made him forget all of his previous misfortunes that day. All of the color visibly rushed from his face and he felt hollow inside as if he had just donated blood. Just when he thought he had hit rock bottom, life dug itself a little bit deeper.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cloud spotted Mr. Nelson frantically scurrying to his office as fast as his skinny legs could carry him.
"I can't believe him! How could he do this to us? Hey, Mr. Nelson!" he called out, but instead of stopping for him, the landlord picked up speed and locked the door and turned around the "Out for lunch" sign upon entering the building. "C'mon, Nelson! I know you're in there. You owe me an explanation!"
Nelson carefully pried open the creaking door, afraid to finally engage the confrontation. He knew this day would come eventually.
"Look, Cloud, I'm sorry about this, but I've given you guys many chances. I've been as charitable as I could be, but you can't delay paying the rent forever."
"Hey, at least I'm trying!" Cloud protested. "It's not MY fault I don't have a job yet. It's not like I'm not making any money at all. In fact, I've even got a few more birthday party gigs lined up."
"Cloud, this puppeteering thing of yours shouldn't be your only source of income. Speaking of which…" He pulled out his phone. "Does this look familiar?"
The blond grimaced at the display of the seemingly-inescapable interview scene. It was clear that no one was ever going to see him the same way again.
"Tifa shouldn't have to be the sole breadwinner of your family," Nelson admitted, putting the phone away. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You should be doing better for yourself at your age."
"I know...I know."
Nelson suddenly gestured towards the parking lot. "And speaking of Tifa…"
Returning from her tiring day job as a hotel maid, Tifa pulled into the reserved parking space and emerged from her old, beat-up blue sedan, with a brown paper bag filled with groceries in each arm and her car keys clenched between her teeth. Dark circles encased the lower eyelids of her weary brown eyes, and she stood hunched over thanks to the heavy paper sacks.
"Hey, Tifa! Welcome home! Let me get those for you," Cloud greeted, rushing to her side to lighten her load and race her to the door before she could see the eviction notice.
Tifa was taken aback by his sudden gesture, suspecting that he was attempting to hide something but accepted his offer nonetheless. "Oh, thanks, Cloud. You're so sweet," she replied, kissing him on the cheek.
Cloud grabbed his oblivious wife by the hand while effortlessly hauling the sacks of groceries with the other arm. With an uneasy smile and an attempt to save face, he turned to her and announced, "Now close your eyes. I got a surprise for you!"
Tifa quietly gasped and did as she was told as her lips creeped into a grin. "Okay. What's all this about?"
"You'll see…"
Butterflies gathered in her stomach as he led her to their apartment. Did he get the job he interviewed for that morning? Anticipation rising, Tifa carefully followed her husband upstairs and into their little sanctuary, unable to contain her excitement once she stepped into the foyer.
"So… What's the big news? Are we celebrating something?"
Cloud was struck with a pang of guilt getting her hopes up, but he didn't want the eviction notice to muddy up her already-exhausting day.
"Uh, how about we just...get away from it all? You can take a couple days off from work and we'll go camping up in the mountains. How does that sound?"
At once, Tifa leapt into his arms and squealed euphorically. "Congratulations! Does this mean you got the job? And I bet they gave you a big sign-on bonus, too, huh? That's how you could afford this trip?"
I never said anything about a job. Technically, I'm not lying if she's jumping to conclusions, right?
"So how about it? Why don't we pack our suitcases, head up there before it gets dark, and we can make it in time to have a nice dinner and sit by the fire?"
Knock-knock.
"I'll get it!" Cloud announced, making a beeline for the door. The last thing he needed was for Nelson to reiterate the same information to Tifa and-
"Hey, Cloud! How's it going?"
What a relief. It was just their friendly nextdoor neighbor Zane.
"Oh, hey, Zane! Me and Tifa were about to go rent a cabin up in the mountains for the weekend."
"Really? Sounds like fun! I came over to see how you two were doing after that video blew up and getting this eviction notice. I'm sorry you're going through such a hard time."
Tifa paused. "Wait. What video and eviction notice?"
Zane immediately realized his mistake. "Oh, I guess you haven't seen them yet."
"Zane, now's not really a good time to be discussing this."
"Sorry! I thought she knew." He abruptly scurried away, a blush overcoming his features and afraid of the damage he had caused.
Bracing for the worst, Cloud slowly shut the door and turned towards a frozen Tifa, who was silently processing everything she had just heard.
"Cloud… What's going on here?"
"I can explain. Now, I think it's better that you see this from me firsthand… I'm sorry for what you're about to see."
Without hesitation, the blond brought out his phone and presented the ruinous recording which would soon be his downfall. A giggle fit enveloped the brunette as she witnessed the various forms of puppetry played out by her husband, but it quickly died down in deafening silence as the realization hit her: this was from the interview he had earlier that day. Her laughter faded into despair; her smile morphing into a frown. A proudly-displayed five million views became the tipping point as she forcefully thrust her fists onto his chest.
"You IDIOT! Why would you go and blow the interview like that?!"
"I tried my best, alright?" he added, throwing up his hands in defense. "It was going smoothly at first, but then he went silent and I felt awkward and nervous. What was I SUPPOSED to do in that situation?"
"Maybe not bring that stupid cat into the mix? I honestly wish you would throw that thing away."
"He's not stupid! Stitches and I are in high demand this month and the kids love us!"
"But you can't earn a living just doing that. A hundred gil a month isn't going to pay the rent, and it barely pays for any of our groceries. I don't think you're trying hard enough to find a real job."
"You think I don't try? I've applied for two hundred jobs this month. TWO. HUNDRED. And I only ever heard back from five of them, including this one. I can't make them hire me!"
"And they probably never will, because this little stunt of yours will probably be their first impression of you. I'm not even surprised we're getting evicted considering we owe three months worth and you refuse to pick up the slack around here. You need to stop letting Stitches hold you back."
Noticing the aforementioned cat nestled within his pocket, Cloud yanked him out and used him to aggressively hiss at her in retaliation. Tifa heavily sighed and folded her arms as she fixated her exasperated gaze on her pathetic husband.
"Grow up, Cloud. It's about time you stop acting like a child and behave like the man I thought I married."
He had enough. "Fine. I know where I'm not wanted. After all I've done for you, and it's come down to this. I'm out of here."
On that note, he slammed the door shut behind him and marched his way to freedom. His sights set on a haven void of accusations and responsibilities, a place with love, nostalgia, and a familiar face…
His mother's house.