AN: This chapter is uh, almost purely smut. I'm not sorry. Treat that as a content warning.

They walked back inside and said quick goodbyes to their friends.

"Have a good night!" Yuffie whispered in Tifa's ear with a knowing grin.

Zack winked at Cloud as he handed him his scarf, slipping something into his pocket. Tifa could've swore she heard him say, "Atta boy."

She hesitated when they approached his motorcycle.

All he had to drink was water, there's nothing to be afraid of!

That wasn't really what scared her, if she was being honest with herself.

"You said you wanted a ride, right?" He smirked at her.

Me and my attempts to flirt earlier!

"I… I didn't think I'd be taking you up on that so soon."

He helped her put the helmet on, made sure it was secure, and told her to hold onto him as tight as she could.

"You're not gonna hurt me. Just squeeze," he said before revving the bike.

The vibrations nearly sent her into a tizzy – she was both excited and nervous, and all for different reasons.

She hugged him tightly, feeling his hard stomach under her arms.

Her scandalous thoughts made her face grow warm.

She didn't know how much time passed. It felt like an eternity as the city zipped by. But before she knew it, he was locking the door behind them and his lips were on hers again. His hands were all over her and fuck they felt good.

He kissed her neck over and over as he ripped off her coat and vest. He yanked off his gloves and removed his shoes. She lifted his shirt, and his mouth found hers again once it was gone, one hand in her hair, the other around her waist. There was a thinner, sleeveless shirt underneath the hood. Her fingers scraped his stomach under it, eager to touch what she felt before on the bike.

Her heart began to thump so loudly in her ears she could swear he heard it too. Was she doing this right now?

Well, what was she doing, exactly?

Hooking up with a stranger?

Reconnecting with a lost love?

She sighed as he sucked on her neck. He was getting lower. Her hat had been discarded at some point as well.

"You're going to leave hickeys…"

She felt his lips turn up against her skin. "Is that… a problem?"

Tifa shook her head. "No," she panted. "I was just making an observation."

He paused, his hands on her waist, fingers on the hem of her skirt. His mouth rested on her collarbone.

"Do you want me to stop?"

She blinked. "What?"

Cloud lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were dark with lust, but his face showed concern.

"Are you okay with this?"

Was she?

She'd only had a couple of drinks, and they weren't particularly strong. She wasn't drunk. But that wasn't really what he was asking.

Did she want him now, or was she wading into her teenage feelings? She'd spent so long angry with him, heartbroken, but what he said…

"Sometimes I think about her."

"I hate that it ended like that."

"I wish… I was able to fix it."

Why bring up something like that just to lie to a stranger?

His honesty earlier had touched her. And when she saw his face in the light…

She reached up and kissed him, nibbling on his lower lip. His grip on her waist tightened.

"How much did you think about me?" she murmured, pushing her body against him. Her thigh brushed against the bulge in his pants.

He growled and lifted her tank top over her head before pinning her between himself and the wall. She snaked her hands up his body and pulled his undershirt off.

She planted kisses across his chest as he ran a hand through her hair. He grabbed the back of her neck and turned her to him, kissing her roughly.

Her fingers fumbled with the fastenings on his pants. His other hand drifted up her skirt. He pressed his thumb against her clit through her damp panties, and she threw her head back in a loud gasp. She squeezed her knees together and whined as he continued to rub her slowly. Heat pooled in her core and rose up into her chest and neck. She gripped his belt tightly in one hand, the other clutching his arm.

"Cloud…"

Her body quivered with anticipation and pleasure. She finally undid his belt. He grabbed her hands and held them above her head.

"Please," she begged, squirming.

He reached into his pocket, keeping her in place with one hand, and pulled out a condom. Her eyes widened.

So that's what he slipped you!

He kissed her again as he dropped his pants, letting go of her wrists and tearing the package open. She slid her underwear down her legs and kicked off her boots to step out of them. He'd only just gotten the rubber on when he lifted her leg and hooked it around him. He kissed down her jaw and grazed her earlobe with his teeth.

They moaned together as he entered her. His forehead rested on her shoulder. She held onto his arms tightly as he moved, in and out, slowly.

"Tifa," he breathed.

Her nails left marks in his skin. She closed her eyes. He muttered something incoherently and began fucking her harder, his fingers digging into her thigh as he held her up. She kissed him desperately, even though she already felt like she couldn't breathe. His hand slipped closer to her rear and she wrapped her arms around him and brought him even closer.

Her mind could focus on nothing but him.

Just him.

She was getting louder. His hips moved frantically against her, and she could tell he was close too. She moaned as she buried her face into his neck.

"Cl-cloud!"

"Tifa!"

He roughly smashed into her a few more times before driving all the way inside her. She clenched around him, crying out as she came, slumping against his body. A shudder went through him and he groaned loudly.

They leaned heavily against the wall, tangled in each other for a few minutes, breathless. The sweat was already cooling against their skin.

"Damn," Cloud finally said.

"Mm?"

He let her leg go and kissed her temple. "I… I rushed that."

"What?"

He took one of her hands in his and touched his forehead to hers. "I shouldn't have rushed it," he chuckled. "Sorry. I didn't realize how much… I missed you."

Her heart flipped at the confession.

She missed him too… so much.

"That's not good enough to fix anything."

She licked her lips as she opened her eyes. "Are you saying you weren't satisfied?"

He shook his head. "No. Gods no."

"Well… how about we try again? Do it right this time?"

Cloud kissed her, his arms around her waist.

She hopped up, wrapping her legs around him, her mouth laying claim to his neck. One hand sliding up her back, the other under her ass, he made his way through the apartment.

Tifa shivered – the metal bracers were cold against her hot skin. She held him tightly as she laid down layer upon layer of kisses, licking and sucking all the way across his shoulder and back to his collarbone.

He stopped, removing the condom, before sitting down with her on the edge of his bed. She didn't even notice they'd walked inside of a room. It wasn't completely dark; even though his blinds were closed, the lights from outside still filtered in.

Tifa untangled herself and stood in front of him. She could see his face, his blue eyes trailing down her body. Her skirt was hiked up considerably and one of her socks had rolled halfway down. His briefs were still on, but askew.

"How is it that I'm in more clothes than you?"

He chuckled, kissing her stomach. "I was eager. And you have more pieces."

He pushed her socks down, and she kicked them off. As he traveled back up her leg, he kissed her along her inner thigh. She sucked in a breath. Just as he reached the ends of her skirt, he leaned back and unclipped his bracers. They clanged to the floor. She unhooked her bra and watched his face as she let it fall away.

He just stared. The self-doubt she'd been trying to keep at bay all night crept into the front of her mind. Her hands itched to cover herself until he scooted closer to the edge of the bed and wrapped his tongue around her nipple. He grabbed her other breast and kneaded it with his fingers.

She ran her own through his hair and arched her back, pressing into him. He grazed her nipple with his teeth, bit and sucked the skin around it, kissed delicately, sucked again. She felt her knees getting wobbly from his touch.

He pulled her down to the bed, onto her back, one hand sliding down her hip as his mouth moved to her other breast. She hissed, staring at the ceiling, fully aware that she'd be covered in marks in the morning. But she didn't care. It was worth it.

Two fingers slipped past her folds, invading her dripping cunt. Her hips bucked. She looked down at him. He licked her nipple as his fingers spread and curled, his thumb pressed against her throbbing clit again. He gazed up at her lazily as his mouth traveled down her stomach, leaving butterfly kisses, to her hip. He bit her lightly there, and she squirmed as he slipped her skirt off and tossed it aside. His fingers were back inside of her in an instant.

Everything ached. But it felt so good.

She wanted him like she never knew she could want someone.

Their first time, her first time as well as his, she was so nervous she almost couldn't relax. They clumsily roamed each other's bodies, clueless. When they were both finally naked, she remembered blushing so hard it made her ears burn. She had been completely nude in front of a boy! This boy, who she had only fantasized about before! And he was flustered too.

But now, he moved expertly around her, inside her. She knew what that meant, of course, but she wasn't jealous. She'd had her share of experiences as well, and in this moment, she was grateful for it.

Cloud Strife was not the nervous, amateur boy he'd been before.

And she wasn't so innocent either.

She stared down at him, chest heaving, as he kissed the inside of her thigh. His eyes never left hers. She wiggled her hips.

"Cloud… please…," she whined.

Something in his eyes made her think he was ready to tease her, and she wasn't sure she could handle that.

But his lips wrapped around her nub, and she arched with a loud sigh.

He continued to pump his fingers in and out of her while he sucked and licked her most sensitive spot. She gripped his sheets in one hand, her other grabbing a fistful of his hair.

"Oh, gods Cloud."

He chuckled against her and continued. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sensation. She could feel her chest getting tight as her harsh pants became shorter.

His fingers moved faster. He sucked harder. Her breath hitched, then she let out a series of high-pitched squeals.

She trembled violently as he padded her clit with his thumb gently, letting her ride her high down. She panted hard. For a few brief seconds, she wasn't even aware of where she was.

When she opened her eyes, he was staring down at her.

She was beautiful underneath him. Her hair was a mess, fanned out around her head. Her face was flushed, crimson eyes fogged over.

But damn if she wasn't the sexiest creature he'd ever seen.

He remembered that night all those years ago when she was underneath him, a bundle of nerves. He was a wreck himself. He was so afraid of hurting her, his hands shook as he tried to slip on a rubber. When he finally hovered above her, ready, he hesitated. He asked her over and over again if she was sure.

He remembered her wincing in pain at first, and his stomach lurching. He almost stopped, but she reassured him it was okay.

Now, she was with him again, and she was most certainly not as timid as she had been before. She took him eagerly and with no uncertainty.

He didn't imagine that if he ever saw her again, they'd be in bed after a few hours. But he definitely wasn't going to complain.

She reached up and caressed his cheek. He kissed her palm. He let her catch her breath for a little while longer, bending down to touch his lips to her neck gently.

"What do you want?" he whispered in her ear.

She shuddered, her hands in his hair.

"You, Cloud."

He kissed her over and over, making his way down her body again as he reached into his nightstand for another condom. Once he grabbed one, he leaned back.

She sat up and pushed him against his headboard. Her mouth found his neck, his shoulder, down his chest. He let out a heavy sigh, relaxing, closing his eyes as she tugged his briefs off.

Her fingers grazed his cock. He groaned, letting his head fall back.

Suddenly, her mouth had enveloped him.

He tensed. His eyes snapped down to meet hers. She gave him the same look he's sure he gave her earlier.

What have I done?

"Mm," she moaned as her head bobbed. Her humming drove him crazy. He fought to grab her hair, instead settling for the covers. He figured he'd just let her go – she didn't seem to need any help.

She slowly licked up to the top of his shaft, then began working him with her hand. She kissed his stomach, trailing up to his neck, then his jaw. She pecked him right at the corner of his mouth but moved away too quickly when he tried to capture her lips with his own.

"Tease."

She giggled, following the same path she'd made before. She plucked the condom out of his hand as she made her way back down.

"What're you doing with that?"

She only hummed, licking his precum before circling her tongue around his cock. The slight vibration made him clench his jaw. She squeezed him a little tighter as her hand moved up and down with her mouth.

He leaned his head back again. She was getting faster as he approached the edge. He started fucking her mouth. He thought his teeth were going to break.

"Tifa…"

"Hmm?"

He was throbbing. She sucked on his tip, before submerging his cock in her mouth as deep as she could.

"Nng!" he grunted, emptying down her throat.

She paused. He gasped when she started sucking lightly again, making sure to get every last drop. He stared at her with wide eyes as she slowly lifted her head and looked at him.

She swallowed and licked her lips.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her up to him, kissing her hard, forcing her mouth open for him. He could taste himself on her tongue, their juices mixing. She straddled his lap, grinding her hips against him, coaxing him back to full attention. She broke away from their sloppy kiss, leaving a trail with her lips down his jaw, to his neck. She nibbled on his ear. Her hands ran up his neck and into his hair. He held her waist as he kissed her shoulder.

She unwrapped the condom behind his head before positioning herself so that she could slip it on. His grip tightened on her as she lowered herself onto him, letting his aching member enter her warm core once more.

He watched her head loll back, her eyes closed, as she sighed. He let her adjust to him as he slid his arm up her back, tangling his fingers in her hair. Her hands pressed against his chest.

"Was this the ride you were asking for earlier?" he said, his voice low.

Her eyes flashed to him. She started to rotate her hips in a circle.

"Maybe," she replied breathlessly.

He leaned back and watched her for a moment, grinding his hips with hers as she sped up, using his shoulders for leverage.

Fuck.

Her tits jiggled in the most tantalizing way, sweat gleaning off of them. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her neck, making his way down to flick his tongue on one of her engorged nipples. She sucked in a breath, slapping against him even faster. Her nails dug into his flesh, which made him hungrier for her.

He couldn't keep his mouth or hands off of her for too long. It's like he was trying to make up for the lost time he didn't get to have with her. All the things they said that night, the promises they made – all the times he thought about her and wondered…

Does she hate me?

Should I have said something? Taken the chance?

I hurt her.

I'll never see her again.

But here she was, in his lap, moaning his name.

He held her tightly as he shifted positions, making sure to stay connected to her as he laid her down. She whimpered as he held himself above her and began moving his hips with hers again.

She felt incredible. He slipped a hand under her and lifted one of her legs over his shoulder so he could reach deeper inside her.

"A-ah!"

She turned her head to one side, biting her lip. Her breathing was ragged.

For a second, he was once again afraid that he was hurting her.

"Tifa."

She responded with a shrill, "Hm?"

"Look at me."

He slowed down, resting on his elbow and intertwining his fingers with hers. Her leg slipped down his arm and he held it.

She turned back to him and he kissed her deeply. He kissed her cheeks, her jaw, her brow, before staring down at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "Yes." She stirred her hips against him enticingly. He pulled out, then slowly filled her again. "Keep going," she moaned.

He had no problem satisfying her request.

He pressed his lips on her neck and shoulder, before straightening. He gripped her waist hard, still holding her leg up with his arm, his other hand still holding hers. She clutched his arm.

"Tifa…"

He couldn't look away from her as she matched his pace. She watched him, too, her nails scratching him. Every now and then, she closed her eyes, her head tilted up, gasping from his powerful thrusts. But her deep red eyes always made their way back to his vibrant blue ones.

He grunted, sometimes hanging his head and gritting his teeth. He was almost overpowered by the feel of her, the taste of her, the scent of her, the sounds she made. She was stunning – the way her breasts bounced, how tight and warm she was around him, the way she breathed his name.

He drove into her at a frantic pace, and he could tell she was getting close again. She squeezed her eyes shut and moaned loudly, her hand dropping from his arm to seize the sheets next to her head. He was nearly there as well.

He slid their hands above her head and bent to her again, kissing her. She returned it hungrily but broke away suddenly, whining.

"Cloud… Cloud, I'm—!"

"With me," he groaned.

"I'm so close."

"Me too."

He created a mad rhythm against her hips, squeezing her hand. Her other let go of the sheets and raked across his back.

The pain sent him over the edge.

He rammed into her a few more times. A guttural noise escaped his throat.

"Cl-cloud!" she shouted, her walls clamping around him like a vice.

He buried his face into her neck. His orgasm washed over him as he reached her depths.

She was trembling as she came down. He let go of her hand, and she immediately wrapped him in her arms.

They snuggled together against his pillows in easy silence. Tifa held his hand over his stomach. Cloud wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and hugged her closer. She appreciated how soft his sheets were now that she could actually comprehend them.

"This is way nicer than a motel," she finally said.

He barked a laugh, not expecting her to start with that. She giggled as he nuzzled his face into her hair.

"Sometimes I think about that and cringe."

"Yeah?"

"I thought I was…"

"…treating me like a whore?"

He stiffened. Her father had screamed those exact words at Cloud when he charged into the room. To this day, she still doesn't know how he found them. One minute, they were holding each other, talking. The next, her dad was shouting at her to go get dressed and hemming Cloud against the wall.

She rubbed her thumb across his hand comfortingly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's alright." He hadn't relaxed yet.

"Hey, it was my idea, remember? I was too afraid of getting caught in your car."

He sighed, loosening up. "We got caught anyway."

"We did. But at least we were in a bed. I wanted… to be in a bed."

They fell into silence again. Tifa shifted uncomfortably.

"My mom and I got into a fight about you not long after we moved."

She looked up at him. He was staring across the room.

"She'd been asking about you, and I never gave her a straight answer. One day I told her we broke up after prom, and she railed on me."

"Why?"

"She told me she knew that we'd had sex. Found the condoms in my room." He chuckled mirthlessly. "That was mortifying. But she never asked me about it because she wanted me to come to her." He paused.

"What did she say?" she asked. She wanted him to keep going. She wanted to know how he'd been feeling about this too.

"She... didn't expect that we'd broken up. 'How could you do something like that? I thought you really liked her! How do you think she probably feels!' I remember her saying." He swallowed. "She said she was disappointed in me. She thought she raised me to treat girls better than that. Didn't help that she also really liked you."

"Cloud…"

"I'd never raised my voice at my mom before that. I just kind of lost it and told her everything." He let out a shaky breath. "She wanted to call your dad. I told her not to bother. But she was pissed."

"Why didn't you?"

"Let her call? I don't know, I thought… I don't know." He rubbed her arm. "I'm the one rambling now."

"It's okay. I'm glad you're telling me. I'm sorry you've been agonizing like this."

He released her hand and covered his face, which contorted into a pained look.

"Did… did you hate me?"

Tifa sat up slightly and kissed his chin. "I don't."

"Tell me the truth Tifa. Did you?"

She gently tugged on his hand. He finally looked down at her through his fingers. "At first… I was upset. I didn't want what my dad said to be true – that all you wanted from me was one thing. I fought with him a lot. But when you moved, and you hadn't spoken to me, I…" She sighed. "I did. I hated you. I… I was heartbroken Cloud. But now I know I was directing my anger at the wrong person."

She pulled at his hand again. She didn't want him to close up now.

"Cloud, please."

He dropped it. The look on his face wasn't much better.

"I eventually got over it. I dated. I fell in love again, and even though those relationships didn't work out, it's okay. I'm okay," she reassured him.

He kissed her forehead. "I'm glad. I guess... I just needed to tell you."

"You've been holding that in all this time, haven't you?"

He nodded. "Silly, right?"

"No. There's… a lot happening right now."

She knew how he felt. So many emotions welled up inside her when she recognized him. The pain, the sadness, the anger… she'd felt so betrayed before. Most of all, she felt the hurt - she had loved him. She was only a teenager, but she had loved him. She thought she'd buried all of these feelings and gotten over him.

But the way she wanted him, the way her heart ached for him, she couldn't deny that. And she was glad she didn't.

At the same time, she started to feel this creeping doubt - did they want each other in the now, or was this nostalgia? Was she pining after a lover she never got to really explore a future with, the one that got away? Or was she attracted to him as he was today?

Was he?

She chewed on her lower lip. Sure, before she knew who he was, she thought he was an alluring stranger. Something drew her to him, made it easy for her to talk to him for so long. Tifa wasn't sure she would have gone to bed with him if it turned out she didn't know him, but she knew she was definitely interested in learning more about him.

It didn't hurt that the sex with him was unbelievable. His touch was different from others, and maybe that's because he was somewhat familiar. He reached her heart in a way no one had been able to before.

He'd meant so much to her. They'd promised they would be together and make it work, even if they were far away.

Her father took that from her.

The room suddenly felt heavy. She let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes, burying her face into his neck.

"I can't believe he did that," she muttered.

Cloud squeezed her hand. "What?"

She took another deep breath, then another. He sat up straighter, bringing her up with him and holding her by her shoulders. He watched her face. She didn't look up at him.

"Tifa…?"

She felt herself getting angry. Cloud tortured himself with this for so long. He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve what her father had done.

She didn't deserve it either.

"He watched me cry about you for days."

Cloud's grip on her shoulders tightened. She bit her lip to try to stop herself, but it all came out.

"He kept telling me you wouldn't talk to me now that you got what you wanted. I told him he was wrong. We fought almost everyday about it. Sometimes I wouldn't even speak to him. He knew how important you were to me. I told him I loved you!"

"Tifa, stop."

"He knew you wouldn't talk to me. He made sure I'd hate you!" She sighed, leaning against him. "I can't believe he did this to me. To you," she said weakly. "And why, why…"

Cloud ran a hand through her hair and held her around her waist, shushing her soothingly. Tifa suddenly felt very tired. She had too many things to process. All this time…

"Maybe this was a bad idea," he whispered.

She shook her head. "No…" She held his face, pressing her lips to his. He hugged her tighter. "I… I missed you too Cloud. I missed you so much."

They stayed that way for a few minutes. Her breathing evened out again, but her mind was buzzing.

"I want to keep seeing you," she said quietly.

"I'd like that too."

"If it's okay… maybe we should take it slow."

I need to figure this out.

He kissed her cheek, then her nose. "I think we both need that."

He was reading her mind, she was sure of it.

They laid down, Tifa still wrapped in his arms, her head in his chest. He kissed the top of her head.

"We can… talk more over breakfast, if you want."

She nodded, a small smile on her lips.

"That sounds nice."