DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VII and its characters are wholly the properties of Square Enix. This story is written purely for entertainment and not profit.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know I say this a lot, but I cannot thank you all enough for reading and providing me feedback. Your responses mean so much and serve as such an important motivating factor for me to keep writing. Thank you for your continued reading and, hopefully, enjoyment of this story!

Healing of the Heart

Written by daBOSSz

Chapter 11

There was quite a bit on Cloud's mind when he returned to Seventh Heaven the following day.

First, the monster attacks were still as intense on his way back home as they had been the previous day when he traveled to Junon. He ended up maximizing his limit break again as he fought through to Edge and was thankful that he did not need to use it this time to defend the city from another stampede, but with Reeve still silent on the WRO's investigation into the matter, the questions that both he and Tifa had would remain unanswered. He thought about calling Reeve for an update, but he ultimately decided against it, since he knew that the WRO's founder had far too much on his plate daily to be interrupted by a relatively mundane request, especially since Reeve had already informed Cloud that he would reach out if any news came in.

However, his chance meeting with Dio the previous afternoon had yielded some good news, and he was eager to break it to Tifa to—if nothing else—see how she would react. He hoped that this would be a viable solution to help ease her concerns with what she saw as her declining abilities.

That revelation would have to wait though, because the moment he walked through the door, he was greeted by the site of Marlene and Denzel helping to prepare the bar for the evening rush. Their eyes lit up as soon as they turned around to face him, instantly revealing the signature smiles that he loved coming home to.

"Cloud!" they shouted, dropping their tasks and running toward him. "You're back early!"

Cloud placed the two large bags he was carrying down on a nearby table just in time to receive their simultaneous hugs with one child clinging from each side.

"Yup, I am," he affirmed. "I managed to finish all my deliveries in Junon just after lunch."

It did not matter how frequent or routine their greetings were. After the Geostigma crisis, Cloud indulged in their warm welcomes every time he returned, refusing to take either child for granted. He felt that, deep down, Marlene and Denzel would continue to worry that he might disappear on them again, and just as it was with Tifa, it would take a significant period of time before they would fully buy into his declaration of staying permanently.

"Did you bring us anything?" Denzel asked.

Cloud's grin broadened upon hearing this question. Once the children released their grasps on him, he picked up the large bag containing the school supplies he had purchased and handed it to Denzel.

"Why don't you take a look for yourselves?" he replied.

One glance inside was enough for both youngsters' eyes to widen. They gasped as they pulled the backpacks out, filling the bar with cries of excitement at seeing their new gear. They opened up their respective backpacks and found them stuffed full of various necessities: a binder for each, pens and pencils, coloring materials, notebooks, and even a calculator and dictionary. The excitement stayed high as both Marlene and Denzel dug through each item, marveling at both the similarities and differences between each other's. Once they finished exploring what they had just received, the two youngsters zipped up their backpacks, slung them over their shoulders, and admired one another's "prepared for school" pose.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Marlene exclaimed, reaching out and enveloping Cloud in another hug. "Thank you, thank you!"

"Yeah, thank you, Cloud!" Denzel followed suit. "We're going to be so ready for school."

Cloud returned their hugs, embracing their warmth for a second time. He had gotten so caught up in the children's excitement that he did not even notice Tifa's presence until Denzel directed his attention to her.

"Tifa!" he called. "Look at what Cloud got us!"

Marlene and Denzel ran to her and turned around so that their backpacks were facing her.

"Look! He got me a motorcycle one!" Denzel said.

"And I got a pink chocobo one!" Marlene followed.

"I know," Tifa responded with her trademark smile of affection. "I saw everything."

"Isn't Cloud the best?" Marlene asked.

"You know it!" Denzel answered before anyone else had the chance to.

Cloud felt his heart close to bursting from Denzel's quick response. A small part of him still questioned why the once-orphaned child would accept him back into the family after he had led the boy on such a roller coaster ride by bringing him into Seventh Heaven only to fail and abandon him, but he quickly dismissed the thought, giving himself another gentle reminder that they should be past that.

"All right, why don't you two go upstairs and organize your new supplies?" Tifa suggested. "Then you can come back and help me with the bar."

"Okay, Tifa," both children answered concurrently.

Cloud watched them scamper up to their room exerting the same amount of energy that they had when they greeted him moments ago. He turned to Tifa, who had yet to drop her smile.

"You really are good with them, you know," she commented. "Thank you for buying them what they need."

Never one to know how best to accept compliments, Cloud simply responded with a "hmm" and scratched the back of his neck.

"Why don't you go upstairs as well and shower?" Tifa suggested before Cloud could gather his next thoughts. "A few of your clients called your office number today. You might want to follow up with them when you're done."

"What about you?" he asked. "Need any help with the bar?"

"I'll be fine," she answered. "I'll let you know if I could use a hand with the evening rush."

He nodded his head in understanding, then remembered the other bag and its contents.

"Oh, Tifa?" he said, reaching back to grab the large sack. He walked up to her and handed it over. "Here, I picked up some things in Junon I thought you might like."

He watched her look inside, removing the wines and vegetables that he had purchased. There was a slight moment of uncertainty written on her face when she saw a few of the vegetables, and he knew he probably picked some that she did not anticipate; nonetheless, she did not ask him why or what he was thinking when he chose them. He would be the first to admit that he still needed help with selecting vegetables.

"You know just what I like," she remarked with a smile as she admired the wines. "Thank you, Cloud."

He nodded in appreciation. He debated whether or not to reveal the news he had from his meeting with Dio, but decided to put it off and not have it potentially burden her during the evening rush.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me," Cloud adhered to her suggestion, following the path that Marlene and Denzel took minutes ago, feeling her signature smile of appreciation from behind him.

There was still a lot running through Tifa's mind during and after the bar's busiest hours that evening. She had spent much of the day trying to repress the nightmare, even though she knew that she would never completely succeed. She also spent a few moments training, but that simply reminded her of the missed opportunity to address what still lingered between her and Cloud. Marlene and Denzel helped distract her from her own thoughts for a while when they returned from playing with their friends and shared their stories with her, but it was only a temporary interruption.

Cloud's early arrival was more than welcomed, and the sight of him interacting with the children finally granted her heart some much needed warmth over the haziness that had been dawdling within. For all the turmoil that Cloud had experienced in his past, one area that Tifa had always witnessed to be his strength was his relationship with children. He never talked down to them and never dismissed them as "just children"; he almost always made them feel as though their words mattered, and he valued their time and needs better than the average adult. It was why Marlene had grown fond of him incredibly quickly despite her rocky first impression, and it was why Denzel continued to view him as a hero even during a period when his own demons were dragging him down.

Purchasing the essentials that they needed for school and making sure that those essentials were what they would love—all without having to be requested to do so—further reinforced Tifa's view that Cloud knew how to care for children. Even as questions between the two of them still hung in the air, he continued to prove that she would never need to worry about the bond he had formed with Marlene and Denzel. In many ways, it was more often stronger than the frequently undefined bond that he shared with her.

The evening at the bar went by more smoothly than the previous one had. It was still busy, but not every seat remained full the entire time, and there were no Turks to cause any major distractions. Early on, Marlene and Denzel helped out in their usual manner, although Tifa alone could have handled the entire evening without any issues; thus, she never felt the need to summon for Cloud's help.

Still, the patrons did not stop coming, and the downside of a busy evening that led into the late hours was that the four of them could not sit together for dinner; as a result, when their meals were ready, Tifa had Marlene and Denzel take Cloud's food up to him and asked them to remain with him in his office so the three of them could enjoy their meals without distractions. She would manage to grab a bite of her own plate whenever she had a moment to spare, but for the most part, her patrons kept her occupied.

Denzel eventually brought three empty plates into the kitchen before heading back upstairs, and Tifa would not see either child again for the rest of the evening. With her patrons still entering and departing well past the children's regular bedtime, she trusted that Could would put them to bed just like he almost always did whenever he was home (she would simply check in on them after the bar closed). As a result, she was still contemplating what she had been wanting to address with Cloud ever since their awkward training moment a few mornings ago, but the amount of time that had passed since then, alongside all the other thoughts that had maneuvered their way into her mind between then and now, were making her question whether or not it was still something the two of them would even need to discuss at all. Part of her simply wanted to move forward, but another part kept reminding her that lingering issues simply did not disappear.

Tifa hated experiencing moments like these when both her mind and heart were stuck in a cycle of indecision. Dejectedly, it always seemed as though her relationship with Cloud was rife with such hesitancy.

Ten-year-old Tifa glanced outside her bedroom window at the Strife yard to see her neighbor sitting alone on his tire swing. It was August 11th, and he was turning eleven, but instead of celebrating his birthday, he was out there by himself with his head down. She had caught him doing this a few times in the past, and it bothered her to see him seemingly so downcast, especially on a day that was supposed to be joyous.

Tifa desperately wanted to reach out to him, but far too many barriers were preventing her from doing so. For starters, she no longer knew what to say to him. She could not even consciously recall when their most recent extended interaction was; it had either been too long or the Mt. Nibel accident had scrambled her memory too much for her to recall anything related to him. Sure, they had spoken a few times since then, but none of their exchanges could even be considered conversations. Physically, they were still next-door neighbors who lived only a few steps apart, but emotionally, they had grown as distant as the dimmest stars in the sky.

Then there was the issue of her father, who had adamantly forbidden her from speaking with Cloud ever since she had awakened from her week-long coma a year ago. When she asked him why, he simply informed her that Cloud was "bad news" without explaining any deeper. Although her father was currently not home, Tifa knew better than to defy him.

Her friends were another factor holding her back. They were the ones who first told her that Cloud had pushed her off Mt. Nibel, and while she had never actually believed them, Tifa would be lying if she said that being around them had no negative impact on how she viewed Cloud. She knew that he had certainly turned more aggressive, and although she sincerely wanted to understand why, rumors of his increasingly violent tendencies did slightly frighten her. Such rumors made her start questioning what would happen if she tried to open up communication lines with him: would he be friendly with her, or would he act as aggressively toward her as he had become toward the other boys?

Despite all of these barriers, Tifa's curious and nurturing side was too stubborn to yield. She had never experienced any issues with Cloud in the past, and even with all the gossip from her friends and the townsfolk, her determined nature refused to believe that she was incapable of breaking through to him. It took a few more minutes, but she finally made the decision to act. Bound by a sudden surge of courage, Tifa pushed herself away from her windowsill and made the walk downstairs. She would wish him a happy birthday, and even if she and Cloud wound up having little to say to each other beyond that, she would be satisfied to know that he felt the presence of at least one other person for his birthday.

The moment she reached the bottom step though, a noise could be heard coming from the door. Seconds later, the knob twisted, and Brian Lockhart entered.

"Hi, Sweet Pea," her father greeted. "Did you just come downstairs?"

Tifa felt her heart sink. Within that one moment, the courage she had worked to build evaporated, and her opportunity was deprived from her.

"Yeah, I'm just thirsty," she answered. "I'll be in the kitchen."

"Tifa?" Cloud called out when he came back down to the bar. He had just finished sorting through his receipts and mapping out his delivery routes for the next day.

"Oh, hey Cloud," Tifa acknowledged his presence while she finished rinsing the final glass. "I'm almost done here. Go ahead and grab a seat."

"Okay," he responded, sitting down at the bar stool directly in front of her.

"Thanks a lot for putting the kids to bed," she added as she placed the glass on the rack to dry.

"Of course," he replied. "Do you need any help back there?"

"No, I just finished," she informed. "Want a drink?"

"Oh, just some water's fine," he told her.

She filled him a glass and placed it in front of him. He took a sip while she washed her hands and wiped them off. He decided the time had come.

"Hey, Teef, I wanted to apologize for what happened the other morning," he said.

That seemed to get her attention instantly, because all of her movements suddenly stopped, and her eyes became laser-focused on him.

"Apologize?" she asked in a tone that sounded more bewildered than curious. A small part of Cloud wanted to ask her why she appeared more puzzled than he had expected, but he quickly decided that it was likely because she was anticipating what he would say next.

"Yeah, the awkward moment we had wound up interrupting your training," he explained. "I said I would help you train, and that moment didn't help."

Cloud noticed that the bewildered stare she was giving him did not shift after his clarification. He figured it was best to dispel it by revealing the positive news.

"I do have something you might like though," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to her. He watched as she finally replaced her look of confusion with one of intrigue once she had read the card.

"What's this?" she asked him.

"Well, do you remember Dio, the guy who owns the Gold Saucer?" he said, and she nodded. "He recently opened up a new, underground battle square just outside of Edge. He actually hired the Trio to manage it."

"The Trio?" she questioned. "You mean, Chocobo Sam, Madam M, and Andrea Rodea?"

"Yup, that Trio," he answered. "Dio said they're always looking for capable fighters to conquer the new battle square, and if it's anything like the battle square at the Gold Saucer, we can expect a challenge."

Cloud paused for a few seconds to gauge Tifa's expression, noticing that her eyes were wandering between his and the business card.

"What do you say, Tifa?" he asked. "Want to test yourself in an arena again?"

He watched her for a few seconds more, recognizing that she was putting some thought into his suggestion. He knew that she was capable, but he remained uncertain of how confident she still felt after being defeated by Loz, struggling against the elfadunk stampede, and having him mess up their lone training session together. After a while, he decided that it was best not to keep staring at her and making her feel as though he was pressuring her for a decision immediately.

"Feel free to give it some thought," Cloud said, starting to turn away. "The battles are frequent, so you don't have to…"

"I'll do it," Tifa interrupted, stopping him in his tracks.

"You will?" he asked, requesting confirmation.

"Yes," she reassured. "Tell them that I'm in. Pick a day, sign me up, and I'll close the bar for that day."

Cloud flashed her a grin that symbolized both relief and contentment: it was a relief that she had not thought of his idea as a waste of time, and he felt content that it seemed to have brought back some of the determination that he loved seeing from her.

"Great," he remarked. "I'll let them know the next time I see any one of them. Then we can start training together for your battles. Sound good?"

"Absolutely," she replied, and he relaxed again when he detected no hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Excellent," he said, feeling as though her acceptance had renewed his own drive as well. "I won't let you down this time, Tifa."

AUTHOR'S NOTES: To be honest, I don't feel as though this is one of my stronger chapters. As I was writing it, I kept getting the impression that I was regurgitating what had already been covered before.

What do you think, though? I can only hope that you're still entertained enough to want to continue following the story. I always appreciate your feedback, so please let me know your thoughts. Until next time!