In the Worst Way
"I'll take another one of those, Tifa."
Cloud watched from where he stood in the back corner of Seventh Heaven with his arms crossed over his chest as the idiot with the oily, long, blonde hair and dirty coveralls leaned over the countertop, nodding his head in Tifa's direction, a leery smile on his face. The guy couldn't have been more than twenty-two, but the rough stubble on his chin made him look harder around the edges. His clothes were covered in streaks of oil and the cuffs of his pants were tattered over worn, faded leather boots, and the headband that held his greasy hair out of his face was soaked through with sweat.
As disgusting as the sight of it was, none of it bothered Cloud as much as how close he was standing to Tifa Lockhart.
Cloud's eyes narrowed in the dimness of the bar as he watched Tifa smile sunnily at her patron before she turned away and reached for a bottle and a shaker. She mixed a drink in front of her customer, still holding her smile, and Cloud found himself grinding the teeth in the back of his mouth against each other.
It had only been a night ago when he had sat across from her in that very spot as she mixed him a drink, offering a smile that was not too dissimilar, her breasts shifting slightly as she raised her arms and showed off her mixology skills. It had him burning up with desire when he finally left the bar that evening, so much so that he had been looking for any excuse to get away from her and the bar before he did something he would regret.
Cloud found that he couldn't get his feelings for Tifa under control ever since he had run into her in Midgar just a week ago. Every moment that he spent with her, he found himself consumed with longing and desire for her, unable to pull his eyes from the curve of her hips or the length of her legs, his gaze constantly fixated on the sharply focused lines of her face and the sweep of her shiny black hair that draped over her shoulders and kissed her cheeks every time she turned to look at him.
And every time he wasn't with her, he was stuck thinking about her and his feelings for her, how he hadn't seen her in five years and how much things had changed between them over the years, though they somehow felt like they really hadn't. He was caught up in memories that were broken and disheveled, trapped in the web of his need to be there for her and protect her the way that he had once promised with the hope it would bring them closer together when they finally found each other again.
It tore at him so much that the night before he had found he was opening himself up to her in a way that he never would have for anyone else, and it wasn't lost on him the way that she blushed and ran out of his room, her cheeks warm and his heart on fire.
But none of that compared to the depraved feelings he was experiencing at the present moment, staring with blue eyes alight by flames of mako as another disheveled asshole made their way up to the bar, this one less discrete than the first, openly flirting with Tifa. Cloud watched her face carefully the entire time, his gloved fingertips digging into the flesh of his biceps as she offered a polite smile and turned away to pour a draft into a mug.
He had been watching this display for hours now, all night, it seemed. The next bombing mission had been postponed for another night, and Tifa went back to work at the bar while the others drank and ate and carried on as they usually did, not too keen to include him and Cloud not interested in being included. He had been monster hunting during the day, but feeling restless, returned to the bar and opted to stay there until it closed, not really having anything else to do with his night.
He didn't want to admit that he was hanging around with the hopes of catching some time alone with Tifa that night before they went to bed.
But he hadn't been prepared for the way his blood would boil over as the night unfolded. It was a Friday night and the first time that Cloud had seen Seventh Heaven so busy since he'd found himself in this shithole of a city. All night, Tifa's male customers overstepped their boundaries, some dropping inappropriate or lewd compliments and pickup lines, others staring too long and too suggestively, and some even being so bold as to touch her forearm or her shoulder as she moved throughout the bar.
More than once, Cloud had found himself starting from his position against the wall, moving in her direction to intervene. But every time, Tifa calmly, firmly, or threateningly broke the contact, reminding Cloud over and over again that she could take care of herself.
The constant realization that she didn't need him only made him wilder with anger, and if the goddamn bar wasn't so crowded and cramped, he would have found himself pacing back and forth to alleviate the pressure in his skull.
What the hell is wrong with you? She doesn't belong to you.
Despite this voice of reason, Cloud couldn't stop the internal fury that raged inside of him, reminding him over and over again that as much as that was true, he wanted Tifa, wanted her so, so bad. And it wasn't just that pretty face or that gorgeous, powerful, body that he wanted, but it was her entire heart, that sweet, shy smile that he offered her and that cute little run and the way that she laughed and -
"Last call!"
Cloud was torn from his thoughts, looking back up to find Tifa coming around from behind the bar, swaying her hips as she moved. She glanced in his direction, offering him the same smile that had just been clouding his vision before she turned away and began to clean up the dining room. He watched as she worked alone to clear tables, some of her patrons finally beginning to vacate after leaving their gil on the table. The stragglers ordered their last drinks, and Cloud rolled his eyes at them, noticing that it was only the scrubby losers who had been trying to capture Tifa's attention all night who lingered.
Even AVALANCHE had long since retired for the night, Barret taking his daughter to bed in the apartments in the basement and the others heading home after Tifa had begun to wipe down the counter for the final time. He looked around, seeing all of the work that she had to do to close up, and feeling a stab of annoyance under his skin, Cloud finally pushed his way up from the wall and silently started to stack the chairs atop tables that Tifa had already cleaned.
The bar eventually emptied with the exception of the cocksucker with the nasty mop of dark blonde hair who had been hovering at the bar for the last hour. Cloud stared at him in vexation, seeing his glass empty but finding him still standing there, trying to capture Tifa's attention. Pleasantly, she turned to him with a smile, but Cloud could read the exhaustion all over her face.
"I'm sorry, Billy-Bob," she apologized. "But I really do need to close up. We open again tomorrow at ten."
Billy-bob, Cloud thought nastily. What kind of dumbass Hicksville name was that? Cloud was from Nibelheim, one of the most backwater villages on the Planet, and even he hadn't known anybody with such a stupid name there.
"Come on, Tifa," Billy-Bob-the-Clown pleaded, leaning over the counter again. Tifa backed away a step, trying to keep her expression measured and agreeable, though Cloud could read her anxiety all the way across the room. "It's not quite midnight yet, babe. Why don't you pour out something we can both enjoy."
"Billy," Tifa warned, dropping her hands to the edge of the bar, her fingers curling into the wood as she gripped it. Even from where he stood, Cloud could see the way her knuckles above her gloves whitened, her aggravation bleeding through even though she remained calm and amicable.
"Ah, you want a change of scenery?" the asshole pressed, and Cloud hated the guttural twang in his voice, something about it scraping in the wrong direction along his nerves. "We can hightail it out of here, maybe spend the night in Wall Market."
Tifa was opening her mouth to respond, but Cloud had had enough. Watching her under the dim yellow lighting overhead and the glow of the neon signs behind her and seeing the beads of sweat roll down the exposed planes of her biceps and abs all night had been enough, but watching this half-wit hit on her so relentlessly set off something bloodthirsty in him until he was crossing the room in three long strides.
"Didn't you hear what she said?" Cloud announced, a foot behind Billy-the-shithead. His hands were at his sides, but they were ready to reach over his shoulder for the hilt of his sword. "This place is closed. Get lost."
Billy turned around, clucking his tongue as he looked Cloud up and down with a slight laugh. He was about a head taller than him, but Cloud didn't give a fuck about this. He was ready to cut him in half right in this dining room if he had to.
Billy appraised him for only a moment before he turned back to Tifa. "I didn't know you hired help around here," he responded. "Think I heard about this guy, helping a little girl chase cats around the Sector. Real tough."
Tifa was about to say something, her eyes growing wide with panic, but Cloud's sword was already in hand. He was in front of Billy so fast with the sharp end pointed at his throat that there had barely been enough time for Tifa to gasp her surprise.
"You have five seconds to leave," Cloud declared, "Or it's gonna take an entire Shinra clean-up crew to scrub your insides out of this wood."
Billy's attitude quickly shifted under the appearance of the Buster sword. He swallowed quietly, then backed away from the bar, holding both hands up in front of him.
"Ifrit, Minerva, and Odin," he swore, backing away toward the door, nearly stumbling over a table as he went. "It's always the hot ones with the crazy boyfriends. I'm leaving."
"Don't let me find you back here again," Cloud warned.
Billy didn't turn around until his back hit the front door, and soon as it did, he booked it out of there. Cloud's eyes remained narrowed the entire time, and when the door shut, he crossed the room to lock the deadbolt.
"Cloud!"
Cloud sheathed the Buster sword behind him and turned at the sound of Tifa's voice. She was still behind the bar, but she was offering him a stern look. Cloud felt the rage that was lighting up his blood begin to wane, and he took a deep breath, returning to stand across from her at the bar.
"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.
"Don't try to change the subject," Tifa shot back. "You can't throw my customers out like that and tell them not to come back. Billy-Bob spends a lot of money in here."
Cloud felt his entire heart collapse inside his chest, pooling away into a puddle of anxiety. Tifa was angry at him. He hated when Tifa got upset with him. She'd scolded him when he lost his patience with Marle, and she'd been downright pissed off when he almost lost it with their neighbor Marco. And she had really given him a look that had unsettled him for hours when he'd threatened her idiot friend Johnny.
But now, she was in a blend of annoyance, anger, and disappointment, and it all hit a strange, disturbing chord in Cloud. He tried to pour over his behavior, retracing his steps of the last five minutes, but he discovered that all he could see was red.
When it came to Tifa, he realized, he acted on pure instinct, his grip on his control flimsy and loose.
"I'm sorry," he heard himself whine, not understanding where the neediness in his tone was coming from. Only Tifa could cause him to react so childishly like this. "I was watching that guy all night and he wouldn't leave you alone."
"I can handle guys like him myself, Cloud," Tifa protested. "I've been doing it for five years."
The more that this conversation went on, the more that her words stabbed the deepest parts of Cloud's heart. Feeling his face flush with embarrassment, he tried to think about their separation of the last five years, what she had been doing and why they hadn't crossed paths after Nibelheim. But he found that he was staring at a blank canvas, his memories covered in a broken emptiness that still kept him up at night even though he hadn't spoken a word about it to anyone, not even her. Disturbed by the turn his mind was taking, he shook his head out and dropped his eyes to the counter to distract himself, only to have them fall to Tifa's hands, realizing that at some point she'd dispatched her gloves and armor and that he could see all of her pretty, bare skin.
The earlier fury and conflicting emotions became replaced by desire again, his eyes climbing a trail up her body and back to her face. Tifa was still staring at him, her red eyes slightly narrowed with chastisement, but the pinch of her face only made her cuter. When she dropped her hands to her shapely hips and tossed her head at him, Cloud felt his pants tighten, and he couldn't stop himself from wincing at the pain.
"I know you can," he responded finally. "I'm sorry."
Her face softened considerably after that, and she nodded, offering him a little smile. It was the same small, shy simper she offered him whenever their eyes met across a room, or after they defeated an enemy together in battle, or when they found themselves flirting across the bar. Seeing it again was enough to sew wings onto Cloud's heart.
It was nothing like the broad, plastic smiles she offered to the degenerates that traipsed through her bar, he realized.
"I gotta finish cleaning up," Tifa said. "Thanks for sticking around tonight, Cloud. I can finish up now. You should probably go and get some rest."
She turned away to the sink behind her, turning on the faucet as she began to wash some of the glasses left behind, and Cloud found himself staring at the back of her body - that fountain of inky silk cascading over her shoulders, her firm but narrow shoulders that twitched as she worked, the sharp indent of her waist above her skirt. Unable to stop himself, he peered over the bar, catching the pale expanse of skin between the hem of leather and those stretchy black thigh-highs, and suddenly all he could think about was spreading those thighs wide and planting himself between them.
No way in hell was he leaving her here so she could walk home by herself and more assholes could bother her, that was already a given. But something dark and desperate was taking root in his brain, and he felt himself being drawn to her, his pent-up jealousy still careening through his blood, now flushed with a need to comfort and heal and let her know once again, that he was here for her.
She was busy washing the dishes, oblivious to the way that he silently moved around the bar and stood behind her. Only when he removed his sword and leaned it up against the bar at her side did Tifa look up and realize that he was behind her.
"Cloud?" she began, turning to face him, "Why are you - "
"Shh," he whispered, taking another step forward. Now that he was so close to her, he could smell her scent, a blend of honeysuckle that was sprinkled with the spirits she had been pouring all night and the sweat that even the fans above their heads couldn't beat away. It only made his desire grow wilder, and the sight of her bare arms plunged into that sudsy water as he glanced over her shoulder was enough to destroy him forever. "Don't worry about the dishes."
"What?" Tifa's voice was incredulous. She withdrew her hands from the water, turning to face him, managing to splash his fatigues and his boots in the process. When she turned, she realized how close he was, her eyes widening slightly as they connected with his.
"I'm sorry," he said again. "I didn't mean to lose my cool earlier, Tifa. I just - when I see these guys flirting with you… I can't control myself."
Tifa's bottom lip separated from her top as she looked up at him. Standing so close in the silence of the bar, the ceiling fans providing the only white noise in the background, Cloud's enhanced senses picked up the sound of her heartbeat as it began to pick up speed behind her ribs. He could feel the hot skirt of her breath as she exhaled a little faster and harder, her entire body trembling even as she tried to control herself. And he could smell her arousal, pheromones lighting up the air as her body reacted to the proximity of his and the low strum that reverberated behind his words.
It only sent him into a new symphony of savagery and wildness to know that she wanted him just as badly, confirming all of his suspicions and hopes and dreams from the last week.
"Cloud, I…" she tried, but she froze, staring up at him.
Cloud smirked at her, stepping closer to her until the fronts of their bodies were nearly touching. Instead of answering, he dropped his gloved hands to her wet, naked ones, threading his fingers through hers and lifting her hands up so that he could admire them.
"I told you I was here for you, Tifa," he told her softly. "I meant it. I can't help myself around you… and I want you to know that whatever you need, I'll give you."
Tifa's mouth was hanging open, but she was breathing even harder, and Cloud realized she was squirming where she stood, her thighs chafing back and forth against one another as she tried to form words to respond. He realized he was leaving her completely flustered, and it only made the pain in his pants sharpen and the blurriness in his head descend into a deeper, more lustful fog, and with little coherence, Cloud dropped her hands and reached for her face, pulling her in for a kiss.
A voice in the back of his mind was screaming at him that this was a mistake, that he was seconds away from her fist connecting with his jaw in rejection. But as his lips slotted against hers, his tongue pressing at the seam of her mouth, it never came. Instead, her reaction was the opposite, her hands coming up to fall lightly at his waist, a subdued moan escaping her throat as she pressed the softness of her body into the firmness of his.
Cloud carefully broke away, glancing down at her face, finding her eyes sparkling like rubies as she stared at him. He hadn't even breached her mouth, but already her cheeks were bright and flushed. Inhaling a breath, he tried to shake the fog from his brain, realizing that he was slowly losing more and more control as the night wore on and that he was on the verge of committing an act he could never return from.
He started to back away. "I'm sorry," he began, "I shou-"
"No," Tifa cried, pulling him back toward him with a yank on his sweater, hands still at his waist. "You said you were here for me, right?"
"Yeah," Cloud breathed, his heart beating so fast now that he was afraid it was going to stop.
"Then be here, Cloud," she panted, her hands sliding up his chest. "You get so jealous that you threaten my customers, and then you back me up against the counter. Don't start something if you can't finish it, SOLDIER-boy."
That shy little smile that she always gifted him with transformed into a wickedly playful smirk, and Cloud realized that he was seeing a new, different side of Tifa, one that he hadn't seen before. That possessive side of him reemerged, wondering if any other man had seen this Tifa before. That thought alone was enough to have every ounce of mako they'd bathed him in lighting up like the reactors that lined the city.
"We'll see," was all he said, scooping Tifa up with his arms under her rear, twirling her around to the bar, and placing her on top of it.
She giggled as soon as he lifted her, and when he set her down on the bar, he pushed her thighs open and stood right between them, stepping so close to her that her breasts pressed against his chest. As her arms wrapped around his shoulders, he realized that the bar was the perfect height for their centers to align where she sat perched across from him. Feeling the warmth of her body emanating towards his, Cloud dropped his palms to either side of her hips against the smooth wood of the countertop, leaning forward until Tifa was forced to fall backward as he dropped his lips to hers.
This time, his kiss was not so tentative and unsure, the hot press of Tifa's soft lips spurring him to demand more and more of her mouth until she was opening up wide to accept him. He growled low in his throat when their tongues finally met, the taste of her mouth succulent and sweet. As many times as he had dreamed about this, he had never experienced anything like it, but he found himself operating on pure instincts, his body reacting and moving in sync with hers much the way that they did on the battlefield.
Tifa's hands had found his wrists and were holding on to them tight, his arms still caging her against the bar. Her fingers were still damp, curling around the thick leather of his gloves and the heavy iron of his braces. It reminded him of all of the layers that separated them, but as they kissed and kissed, he found that he was too consumed by desire to worry about the mechanics of all of that.
He broke their kiss for air, realizing that the foggy passion that flooded his senses had left his eyes low-lidded, his vision beginning to blur until all he could see was Tifa's porcelain skin and pouty red lips and midnight hair, her scarlet eyes low and flushed by her dark lashes. Her cheeks were bright, the wantonness inside of her exposed, and Cloud's senses once again became ignited by the realization of her need. Groaning out her name - the prettiest name he'd ever been lucky enough to say - he dropped his lips to the side of her throat, gently pushing her back against the bar until she laid back in front of him.
"Cloud," she pleaded, but he didn't need her to ask. He rose again, leaving her neck wet from his nips and sucks, and snaked his hands over her thighs, pulling at the hems of her stockings, tearing one and snapping the other against her skin.
"Why do you wear these?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.
Tifa craned her neck to look up at him slightly, her blush darkening. "They're compression tights," she replied softly. "They help stabilize the muscles when I'm training or fighting, and keep blood flow going. Reduces strain, helps facilitate muscle repair. I wear the same ones on my arms."
It was a reasonable enough answer - too reasonable, maybe - but Cloud could only grin as he stared down at the torn fabric on her right leg. Reasonable or not, she had to know how goddamn sexy these things made her look, driving him mad every time she walked in front of him or twirled her legs in a roundhouse kick to cut an enemy down when they fought side by side.
There was no way she was that oblivious, was she?
She was breathing heavily, still watching him, a curious look on her face as she waited for him to continue. But staring into those dark crimson eyes, Cloud realized that Tifa really was that oblivious.
"They make me crazy, Tifa," he admitted to her, his voice turning rough and gravelly. "Every time I see you walk by in these things, all I can think about is bending you over and tearing you up."
Her eyes widened slightly, and Cloud watched her cheeks darken. The sight of it set off fireworks in his chest, and encouraged by her reaction, he leaned forward again, this time hooking his arms under her thighs and pushing them back so that her skirt rode up and her core was flush against his erection.
"What's wrong?" he asked when she continued to blush and look away, her bottom lip beginning to tremble. He felt himself losing it again, common sense out of the window as impulse took reign, his words disconnected from the thinking center of his brain. "Too much for you, Tifa? Knowing I want you in the worst way? To hear how badly I want to fuck you?"
Tifa whimpered, shifting her hips and sending a spike of pain through his body when the warm heat of her panties brushed against his front. He was ready to ravish her, but he swallowed it back, bending her legs back even further as he delighted in the way he had figured out how to torture her.
"Cloud," Tifa trilled his name up at him again.
Cloud let his eyes sweep over the front of her body, her legs still dangling over his arms as he leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart. He held eyes with hers, watching her lips part as she stared at him, her hands once again gripping his wrist for dear life.
"Would it be too much for you if I told you how I've been thinking about loving you all week, Tifa?" he continued, his voice so, so low, barely a whisper. "How I've been thinking about how much I love everything about you? Your pretty face, your beautiful, soft breasts? This sexy tummy?"
"I - "
"Your hips," Cloud cut her off, this time leaning in to kiss the base of her throat. "I can't stop staring at them when you're around me. Do you walk like that on purpose, Tifa? Do you know that you make me want to stare at your ass all day long?"
"No, I didn't - "
"Are you sure?" he asked her teasingly, now sweeping one gloved hand over her body, caressing the sides of her breasts, mapping a line down her abdomen, trailing her hip, and reaching beneath her to cup her bottom and pull her even closer to him. "Are you sure you haven't been trying to get my attention, hoping that I might kiss you, or spread your legs wide open like this so I can lick your sweet little pussy?"
"Cloud!" Tifa cried, shaking her head from side to side in desperation. Her hands clawed their way up his arm, seeking purchase and seeking relief, but Cloud was just getting started.
"You would like that, wouldn't you?" he mused, now running both hands along the outsides of her thighs, beneath her skirt, his brain mystified when she lifted her hips closer to his. "Me sucking on your clit, telling you how pretty your pussy is, how wet you are, how sweet and sexy you look like when you're about to come for me?"
"Mmmmm," Tifa purred, her eyes now closed, her entire body growing taut as she stretched over the bar.
"Would you like it if I teased you?" he asked her, rising off of her a bit so that he could kiss the back of her knee, the sensation sending a shudder through her. "Building you up so close to the edge with my tongue on your clit and my fingers inside of you, sucking and licking you and pumping you until you are so close, only to stop before you lose it, forcing you back down so that I have to start you back up all over again?"
"No, please," she begged under a heavy breath.
"I don't know," he carried on. "I have all night. I could suck on your clit all night long on this bar and never make you come until dawn."
"Cloud, please!"
"Or maybe what you want is my cock," he pondered, this time backing away so that he could drop a gloved hand between her thighs, finding her warm center, her panties doused. It set off a flare in his brain, and without even thinking twice, Cloud began to stroke her firmly but listlessly over the fabric, Tifa humming out her pleasure as she arched her back and widened her thighs in acceptance. "Have you thought about it before, Tifa? Me inside of you?"
"N-no," she stuttered around a moan.
"Don't lie," he scolded, leaning forward and kissing the corner of her mouth until she gasped out a cry. "Tell me the truth, Tifa. You sure you never thought about it? Me fucking you fast and hard, showing you how badly I want you? Or me making love to you nice and slow, holding your hands above your heads, showing you how much I love you?"
"Oh, Gaia, Cloud I - "
His words had gone places Cloud never could have imagined, but he also knew that he could never reel them back in again. Yet he didn't give a fuck. This was the best experience he could remember living in all of his life, the girl he'd had locked away in his dreams melting on a wooden countertop beneath him, and he had every intention to see this through to completion right here on this bar.
"Tell me, Tifa," he demanded, his tone growing rough, his fingers still drawing languid up and down trails along the seam of her panties. "Which do you prefer? Hard and rough? Or sweet and gentle?"
"Both!" Tifa almost screamed, and Cloud realized that she was so worked up she was on the verge of tears, clawing at his biceps, her perfectly shaped, pale pink nails digging marks into them. He smirked, kissing her again, her mouth eager and imploring this time, igniting the gasoline in his blood.
"Okay," he finally conceded, satisfied with how broken her words had become. He was too far gone now, and the playful talk had burned out his throat, leaving him feeling desperate for release. The bottled frustration of watching her beautiful, shapely form all week, of falling into a rhythm in life beside her, of watching other men try to claim her while he desperately wanted her for himself all collided with feelings that were too deep to be unearthed or discovered, feelings that undergirded all of his infamously filthy but yearning words.
"I've got you."
Tifa whimpered again, but Cloud's hands were both under her skirt, moving so swiftly and roughly that he had torn her panties down her thighs with two quick snatches. The fabric ripped, and Cloud tossed it to the side, pushing her legs back again as he bent down and dropped his mouth to her spread pussy.
He was so eager that he barely had time to appreciate her beauty, but as soon as he darted his tongue out to taste her, he knew that he was in heaven. She was so wet and so pliant, her heat eclipsing him into stardust, and as her first real moans permeated the air, Cloud couldn't stop the aggression that began to spill forth. He found himself sucking on her lower lips and nipping lightly at her clit, dipping his tongue inside of her before dragging it in long swirls over her entire core and swiping it over her swollen nub until she was crying out and leaning forward over the bar, looking down at him with both hands flat on the countertop.
"Cloud - Cloud please -"
She was cut off when he gave her clit a long, hard suck, but he stopped there, getting back to his feet and catching her eyes as she panted. He rose to his full height, standing in front of her, offering her a grin.
"Turn around, Tifa," he ordered.
She stared at him, still panting heavily, and when she took too long to move, Cloud grabbed one arm and deftly flipped her around on the bar until she was on her belly. He pulled her back toward him, spreading her thighs, admiring the curvy flesh of her rear as she bent over.
"You wanted it hard and rough, right, Tifa?" he asked her.
"Cloud, please," Tifa cried. "It - it's my first time. I'm scared."
Cloud felt as if someone had popped a thousand balloons in his chest, and the deflation had quickly brought him back down to earth and to his senses. He had been so consumed by desire that he hadn't even thought about this. Instantly, he felt like a complete asshole.
At the same time though, thinking about all of the poor sons of bitches who wasted their time trying to get Tifa's attention, he couldn't help but feel a bit smug at the realization that she had saved herself for him.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, right away taking her arms and turning her around again. He settled her on the bar and glanced at her, catching her face flushed from where he'd left her stagnated with arousal. He centered himself between her thighs again and cupped her cheek, brushing a leatherbound thumb under her eye that was wet with unshed tears. "I was taking it too far. We can stop."
"No," Tifa argued. "I don't want to stop. I just… my fantasies get carried away. I want you, Cloud. Just… be gentle with me, okay?"
Her words melted him; it was a wonder he was still standing and not a pool of goop on the floor, seeping away into one of the drains beneath the bar. He offered her a small smile, wanting nothing more than to oblige, and at the sight of it, she smiled too.
"Okay," he whispered, promising internally to take care of her.
Cloud set to opening his buckles and unzipping his pants, finally freeing his needy and strained cock from the restraints of his fatigues. His pants barely slid past his hips when he was pulling Tifa closer to him, one arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders until her breasts were warm against his chest again. He breathed out a sigh at the soft feel of her in the shell of his chest, and some of the savagery left his blood, replaced by his intrinsic love and desire for her, couched in compassion and companionship.
"If it's too much, promise to tell me, okay?" he whispered against her cheek. "Tell me anything you want. Don't keep it in, Tifa."
"Okay," she responded, closing her eyes and dropping her head to his shoulder.
Cloud nodded, cradling her to him as he began to slowly push inside of her, pulling her hips closer to his until she was nearly dangling off of the counter. He held her close, snapping his eyes shut at the first hot, wet feel of her around him, her body beginning to tremble in response to his intrusion. His hand at her back curled into her hair, seeking anything to grip onto as he slid deeper into her tight passage, Tifa soon hissing and letting out soft cries as he went.
"Do I need to stop?" he asked her after a moment, his voice choked for air.
"No," Tifa huffed. "Please, don't you dare stop. It only hurts a little. Keep going, Cloud... I think… oh…"
She buried her face in the fabric of his sweater, letting out a keen as he fell fully inside of her. The sensation was vivid, leaving his brain engaged in a brilliant firefight as he felt the deepest, most intimate parts of Tifa Lockhart wrapped tight around him, clenching and shivering as if intent to never, ever let go. He breathed, using every resource in his mako-enhanced body to keep himself together, and he wrapped both arms around her, holding her close to him as he rocked deep inside of her, moving slow but setting enough of a pace that she was widening over him and locking her ankles behind his waist.
"Oh, Cloud," she purred into his shoulder. "Oh, it feels so good. You feel so good, Cloud. Right there, please. Mhm, oh. Please, yes… yes. Keep going, Cloud…"
Encouraged by her responsiveness, Cloud pressed a kiss to her forehead, dropping his hands to her hips and guiding them into a rotation against his, showing her how to move with him and deepening their connection.
"Just like that, okay?" he whispered into her ear.
"Okay… oh," Tifa whined in response.
They continued on like that, Cloud slowly grinding into her while Tifa twirled her hips in response, her moans throaty and dark until Cloud realized she was clenching and crying, her first orgasm taking her. Her words stopped making any sense, turning to a long, drawn-out stream of syllables, and Cloud coaxed her through it, rubbing her back and praising her over and over again as she broke through the high.
"You're so good, Tifa," he growled into her ear, speeding up a little as he sought his own release. "You take me so well."
She stuttered out a cry, scraping her fingernails down his triceps, and the feel of it was enough to push him over the edge. He pulled out of her, emptying on the inside of her thigh, his spend leaking in a hot trail over her soft flesh. Tifa gasped at the emptiness when he left her, now clutching at his shoulders as she tried to pull him back in.
Cloud let her cling, holding him tight, and his arms were soon back around her, His brain was ransacked, his thinking stalled, but his intuitions were still working and he soon was kissing the tears away from her face.
"You okay?" he asked her, and this time, she nodded happily.
"I'm so glad I got to do that with you," she cooed into his chest, her head still resting on his shoulder. "For a long time, I thought I missed my chance, that it would never happen. I couldn't ever imagine being with anyone else this way."
She held him tighter, threads of oxytocin flooding both their brains, the afterglow pulling Tifa into a sleep-like trance. But Cloud could only mull over her words, wondering how it was possible that he could be this lucky of a bastard.
"I told you a long time ago," he said after a moment, his breathing beginning to return to normal. "That I would be here for you, Tifa."
She sniffed and then laughed, and when she snuggled in closer to him, Cloud realized that the words he'd earlier said in the headiness of lust were altogether true.
"I love you," he blurted, repeating his sentiments that had moments before been couched in lechery.
Tifa pulled back finally, her eyes brightening, still wet around the edges. She looked shocked, but it was a happy sort of surprise, and the sight of that much joy on her face made Cloud melt all over again.
"I love you too, Cloud," she professed without hesitation.
That resulted in them kissing again, but Tifa was soon begging him to take her home. Eager to get somewhere more comfortable where he could truly savor her without layers of fabric and armor impeding their intimacies, Cloud grabbed a clean dishrag and wiped down her thighs, helping her to stand, Tifa readjusting her skirt while he fixed his pants.
"Can you walk?" he asked her, eyeing the way she leaned against the counter.
"I'm just a little sore," she answered, her voice so coy and cute again that it drove him to ruin. "I'll be okay."
Cloud would have happily carried her home through the sector, but he decided to spare her that embarrassment. Instead, he nodded at her and took her hand, walking right beside her as they left the bar and returned to Stargazer Heights, spending the rest of the night together under the covers in her room.
The entire walk over, Cloud felt the stickiness still inside of his underwear from their joined release, and he knew that she was his in all the ways that he had always wanted. But it didn't stop him from threatening the life of the next man who looked at her with too much interest or leaned in a little too close. In fact, it only made his little jealousy problem worse.
Much to his delight, though, Tifa never protested again.
Fin