You and Me, After the War
It's the first time he's seen these twisted peaks and barren valleys in seven years.
Cloud Strife sits in the cargo bed of a pick-up truck he caught at a fueling depot outside of Costa Del Sol, where the merchant ship he took from Junon brought him back to the Western Continent. It's been almost five days of traveling thus far since he left Midgar. Shinra provides transportation to their flagship city when young infantrymen enlist, but they don't offer such luxuries upon discharge.
Nonetheless, after seven years away from his village of Nibelheim and being caught overseas in the gruel of military training and war, Cloud is glad to finally be heading home. His homesickness had taken longer than he'd expected to get over, and after the things he's seen throughout his time with the conflict in Wutai, he realizes that as eager as he had once been to get away from the village, he misses certain comforts of home.
Still, it doesn't calm the rising sense of apprehension and mild anxiety that climbs into the center of Cloud's belly when he sees Mount Nibel rise against the horizon in the distance as the highway fades into a broken path of diminishing clay and dirt in the miles outside of Cosmo Canyon. He hugs one knee to his chest, feeling the cool, late morning winds whip through his hair as he watches his hometown slowly develop like a photograph in the distance ahead.
Cloud left Nibelheim at the young age of fourteen, like most of the boys in the village his age had, either for university, work, or conscription into the military. Cloud had gone with the latter, not really interested in school or menial factory labor.
Besides, his motivations lay a little deeper for a reason he doesn't care to admit to anyone, his own mother included.
He chose the infantry intending to eventually join SOLIDER, an elite operative branch of Shinra's military forces. He'd convinced anyone who would ask that he'd chosen this path for the heroics and the fame and glory, not unlike others before him had once done. But it wasn't the total truth.
He'd done it for a girl.
This is why Cloud now feels his heart flutter in his chest as his transport draws nearer to Nibelheim's village border. He'd left to join SOLDIER, but he hadn't made it - he was coming back home still just an infantry soldier, no special hero like he'd promised he would be.
Promised her .
Tifa Lockhart.
He tries not to think about it, the promise they shared on the water tower that night just a few weeks before he left the village. But it's hard not to. It's been hard not to think about Tifa ever since he departed, the girl who grew up next door to him and was so pretty and so sweet, a girl who he wishes he could've been closer to but never really knew the right way to go about it.
He knows he's going to see her again. Nibelheim is a small village. But he tries not to think about it.
Despite his efforts, she occupies his thoughts in one way or another until the truck rolls up to village borders where the dirt roads veer off into grassy plains to the west and taller mountain crags to the east. Cloud lifts his head from where he's let it rest on his knees, looking up to see the wooden rafters of the houses in the village that paint themselves against a horizon of mountain peaks in the distance, a signal that he's returned home.
Cloud thanks the driver with a grunt and a handful of the precious gil he has stored away in his rucksack. He's got more stashed in his Shinra-issued bank account from his G.I. earnings, but most of that he hopes to give to his mother and to maybe start a life with the girl he hopes to marry one day.
He tries not to think about that.
After gathering his wares, Cloud hops out of the truck's bed and makes his way into town. It is early evening on this side of the world, and he yawns, feeling the lag of traveling throughout the time difference beginning to hit his body. The streets are mostly empty at this hour, and Cloud knows that it is because most of the village is indoors, enjoying supper before nightfall approaches. Not really looking forward to running into anyone he's familiar with from the village, Cloud breathes a quiet, inward sigh of relief at this realization, shouldering his rucksack as he walks through the village streets, quietly observing his surroundings as he goes.
Not much has changed in seven years, Cloud realizes. The general store, Gramp's Inn, the chocobo stables - even the old, rusted, and tireless truck that sits eternally parked next to the inn - are all still there. As Cloud makes his way along the narrow cobblestone streets, he takes a moment to inhale the crisp mountain breeze that blows through town, tinted by the slightest fragrance of the wildflowers that grow at the base of the foothills at this time of fall.
Seven years since he set foot in his own hometown, and now, upon return and seeing the familiar facades of his village around him, Cloud finds the memories of his youth slowly return. They were years of searching for a greater purpose than small-town life could offer, of finding something in life that would inspire him and make his mother proud.
And then - of course - there was Tifa.
She enters his thoughts again just as Cloud crosses the roadway to his block, Tifa's house right next door to his. Hands slung low in his pockets, Cloud can't help the way that he is compelled to look up at Tifa's house for a moment, chewing the inside of his lip as he wonders if she is inside, having supper with her father.
The thought of Tifa's father forces Cloud to shake his head and turn, furthering his way down the street. Tifa has one of the larger, nicer homes in town, and it is no wonder, given her father's prominent role as a town magistrate. But her father's leadership in the village isn't what makes Cloud's spine fill with ice.
He tries not to think too hard about that.
Instead, he heads to the cottage next door, the house he grew up in, his home since his earliest memories. He sees the painted red front door, the blue and lavender tulips that his mother keeps growing across the edges of the front lawn, and the faded, rusted mailbox on the sidewalk, and Cloud can't help the way a smile spreads across his face as he makes his way up the path.
He knocks on the door three times, and after a moment, it pulls open with a creak. His mother, Claudia Strife, appears, and in the time since he's seen her last, Cloud realizes that his height has eclipsed hers. Claudia had always been a petite woman and Cloud isn't very tall, but even at his height, he realizes he is suddenly towering over her.
"Cloud!" she exclaims, royal blue eyes that are a reflection of his own flashing up at him as her lips pull apart into a smile. Cloud had written to her to let her know that he was being discharged some time ago, but with the unreliable transports between East and West, there had been no way to guarantee when he might arrive. "You've finally made it! I was beginning to worry."
Cloud can feel his cheeks heat with a warmth that only explodes when Claudia wraps her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Cloud can't help the grin that stretches his face, and he returns her hug, realizing that his mother has only just begun to age in the time since he's seen her last.
"Come in, sweetheart," she tells him.
Right away, the sights and smells of home greet Cloud, comforting him and bringing him back to a place he had drifted far away from. The hearth burns with fresh firewood, and the smell of pork greets his nose from their tiny kitchen in the next room. Cloud can't remember the last time he had a home-cooked meal - everything they serve in Shinra's mess halls is mass-produced and carefully rationed, and there were only a few rare occasions where he would venture into the city with some of his military friends, like Zack Fair, to eat at restaurants or bars.
"You look so handsome," Claudia says as she steps out of the way, making room for Cloud to enter. "You've grown up so much, and that uniform suits you."
Cloud blushes at her admiration but can't contain the way that he smiles in response. His mother has always been a bit of a flatterer when it came to him, but he supposes that is to be expected. He kisses her on the cheek and then enters the house, glancing around their home and letting the sense of ease at its familiarity return to him.
He drops his satchel and helmet at the foot of his bed in his room while Claudia returns to the kitchen, and Cloud can hear the way that she moves back and forth, the sounds of pots and pans on the stove filtering in the background. Nothing in his room has changed since he left, he realizes - his comic books and his games are all in the same place, all of his magazines and old shoes that no longer fit. His mother kept everything intact for his return, only keeping the room tidy and clean.
"Supper will be ready in a little while," his mother calls from the kitchen. "Why don't you take a load off, Cloud? You must be tired from your travels. I'll let you know when everything is ready."
Cloud nods quietly to himself, unburdening himself of his shoulder armor and knee guards but keeping the rest of his uniform intact. He stretches his arms above his head, and finally, he feels the long days and nights of his trek across continents hit him. He lays across his bed, folding his arms behind his head and turning to look out the window, watching as the sky streaks with neon colors as the sun begins to sink.
Soon, the stars will be out, Cloud thinks. It's so hard to see the stars in Midgar with all of the pollution, even above the plate.
As soon as he thinks about it, Tifa is entering his mind again. He wonders what she looks like now, seven years later. He knows how much he has changed in this time, so he can only imagine…
"Tell me what the city is like?" Claudia is suddenly calling from the other room. "You know how much I worry about you, Cloud."
"It was alright," Cloud hears himself respond, feeling massively distracted by her questions and by thoughts about Tifa. Again, he is wondering how he should handle himself when he inevitably runs into her. He knows that he can't avoid her forever. Should he lie and tell her he made it into SOLDIER, even though he didn't? Somehow, Cloud knows he'll never be able to keep the truth from her.
He doesn't think he can face her, and the thought of it both fills him with anxiety and such an incredible sense of depression the Cloud almost misses the way that his mother prattles on.
"I'm glad that you're back home," she says again. "It's time for you to start settling down, you know? Some of the boys have come back to the village, and all the girls are getting snatched up. Don't you think you should start finding a good girl to settle down with, Cloud? One who'll keep a nice home, keep you out of trouble?"
Cloud doesn't want to tell his mother this, but he isn't even sure if he plans on staying in Nibelheim long. There's only one girl in this village who he'd ever want to spend any time with, only one girl he'd wanted to settle down with, and he already knows he's missed his chance.
Cloud says nothing, just grunts an agreement and turns towards the window, watching the sunlight drip away.
"Oh, darn it!" Claudia suddenly cries from the kitchen. "I've run out of scallions. This roast will be no good without them."
Cloud is so wrapped up in thoughts about Tifa again that he barely hears his mother's complaints until she rounds her way into his room, wiping her hands on her apron. He turns to her at the sound of her soft footprints, eventually sitting up to face her when she levels her gaze on him with her hands on her hips.
"I hate to be a bother," she tells him, "But I really don't want to leave while I've got this roast in the oven. Would you be a sweetheart and run to the grocer for me? Quickly, before it closes for the evening."
Cloud sighs a little but nods his head at her, watching as she turns away to fetch her purse from the next room. He really isn't in the mood to go grocery shopping, but he will admit he's grateful for any distraction that will keep him from pouring over his despairing thoughts about the girl next door for a while.
He gets to his feet and follows her, and she returns to him with a handwritten list and a small satchel of gil. Cloud takes the slip of paper but pushes the bag of coins away.
"I got it, Mom," he tells her. "I've got a military salary now. It's fine."
Claudia starts to protest, but Cloud can sense the pride that wells up in her eyes as she smiles and finally agrees. He leans in to kiss her cheek, and then he leaves, stepping out into Nibelheim's misty late fall evening.
He tries not to think about Tifa Lockhart.
Tifa Lockhart shoulders the bright yellow handbag that she purchased from Marle's Sewing Nook, the only seamstress shop in Nibelheim. Since she's started working at the local tavern in town earlier that year, Tifa has begun to save up enough gil to finally buy a few luxury things of her own, and she can't deny that she has a certain taste for these rare fashions that are shipped in from Midgar.
She is making her way through the local village grocer, a wicker shopping basket slung over her other arm as she peruses the aisles. It is just Tifa and her father, Brian Lockhart, at home, her mother having died years ago from a debilitating lung infection, and Tifa handles all of the cooking and cleaning at home. It's been this way ever since Thea Lockhart passed away, and so Tifa is no stranger to spending her time at the grocer or the butcher, picking out their meals for the week.
It is early evening and the sun has already begun to fade away outside, and Tifa checks the time on her PHS before tucking it away into her new purse again. It's getting late, and she wants to serve Papa dinner before she has to report to her evening shift at the tavern.
She heads for the produce section, eyeing the fresh vegetables as she hums a quiet tune to herself, stopping here and there to pick out tomatoes and peppers and dried packs of spices. Tifa has lived in Nibelheim her entire life, and this small town and its simple treasures are all she knows. Her father has long been a prominent figure in the village's politics, and Tifa knows almost everyone there is to know in town - all the other young people her age, all the merchants and the shopkeepers. And losing her mother at a young age has only woven her even more deeply into the fabric of the town. There weren't many young women her age in Nibelheim as it were, and she was the only girl with the misfortune of having to grow up motherless. As a result, she'd always been embraced by the other women in the village who did their best to help Brian raise a young lady on his own.
It's given Tifa a level of resilience that she would never have expected she'd need in life before her mother died. Since she's finished her formal schooling, Tifa has tried to help her father not only manage their home domestically but financially too. She works as a tour guide in town for the local Shinra workers who toil up at the reactor in Mount Nibel, and most recently, she's started bartending at Gramp's Tavern which is right next door to his inn.
Amid all of this, Tifa has noticed in recent days that many of the boys who left her village as young teenagers have begun to return as young men. The war in Wutai has waned to mere skirmishes on its Western front, and they come back as soldiers and merchants or journeymen, looking to set up their new lives back at home with the gil they've brought back from their youthful exploits. And almost all of them are looking for wives, Tifa realizes, so many of them setting their sights on her .
She ignores it, especially when they hit on her in the tavern or knock on her front door with flowers in their arms, hoping to get her to agree to their blithe attempts at courtship. Tifa has disappointed every single one of them, because there is only one boy she has been waiting to return to the village.
So it is for that reason that when she looks up in the center of the produce aisle, finding a lean figure with a shock of pale blonde hair staring in confusion at the assortment of vegetables in front of him, Tifa feels her heart flip over in her chest before it beats wildly, all of the blood in her body rushing towards her cheeks.
It can't be.
Tifa hasn't seen Cloud Strife since he left the village like many of the guys did, seven years ago. And although that time has seemed to drag and stretch on endlessly, Tifa hasn't forgotten about him.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
It's been seven long years, but the truth is, Tifa has had very strong feelings for Cloud for a very long time, going back to as far as she can remember, but especially to the moment they shared on the town's water tower one late, starry midnight before he left for SOLDIER. In fact - as Tifa had realized that very night and maybe even long before that - she had fallen in love with him.
He has been away for so long and the war in Wutai had grown so tumultuous that Tifa had begun to wonder if she would ever see him again. She acknowledges to herself and no one else that her feelings run deep, but that she isn't really sure how to reconcile them. She is no longer a teenage girl foolishly waiting for a boy to come back for her from the war but is a young woman with her own interests and passions and more than enough wherewithal to chart her own path in life.
Still, it hasn't stopped her from thinking of him often all these years, hasn't erased him from where she's buried him somewhere deep inside her heart.
So it floors Tifa when she looks up across the produce aisle and sees him standing there, only realizing he's no longer the lanky-boned boy who left her bright-eyed and filled with butterflies in her belly on the water tower that night, but is now a man, taller and well defined, wearing a crisp military uniform with his wild blonde hair trim at the nape of his neck where it was once fashioned into a rattail.
But more than that, Tifa realizes as she stares at his profile, Cloud's youthful beauty has transformed into something so dashingly handsome that it is almost hard to believe what she is seeing.
It can't be him.
But Tifa knows that it is, and as she stares at the profile of his face, watching as he ponders over the produce a few feet away from her, the sudden burst of electricity that races through her entire being is enough to make the hair on her arms stand up on end.
She swallows a careful gulp of air, trying to decide what to do next. The thirteen-year-old girl inside of her is compelled to run up to him and wrap her arms around him with a squeal, while the mature, refined, well-adapted Tifa of twenty years old is much more inclined to walk up to him with a simple greeting and a welcome home back to town.
She finds herself deciding on a careful cross between both.
Cloud is so engrossed in sifting through the vegetables in front of him that he almost doesn't notice that Tifa is approaching him until she stops right next to him, tilting her head to one side. She takes the opportunity to examine his features more closely, noting the way that his jaw is set as he thinks. When he finally notices her standing there, his eyes widen with surprise, and he stumbles back a step, his cheeks staining pink.
His eyes are so bright and so blue, and Tifa realizes how much she misses their summertime hue. She thinks again of the water tower, of seeing them reflect under the glow of thousands and thousands of stars.
"Tifa?" he queries, his eyes traveling up and down as he takes her in with what she can only describe as utter surprise.
"Cloud," Tifa chants back, and there's no stopping the burning heat that erupts across her cheeks. There's also no stopping the surge of emotions she feels when they lock eyes for the first time again in nearly a decade, and Tifa finds herself falling again to earlier impulse, leaning forward to wrap her arms around his neck as she pulls him in for a hug that she simply cannot resist.
"You're back!"
Cloud stumbles somewhat against the weight of her body, and Tifa can hear the way that he sucks in a breath of surprise at her gleeful assault. Instantly she is embarrassed, regretting her behavior but finding that she can't exactly stop herself now that she is so close to the warmth of his body that is so much larger and firmer than she remembers it.
Especially when his arms tentatively rise and hug her back, offering her a light squeeze around the shoulders.
"Y-yeah," he mumbles quietly, and Tifa's cheeks burn even hotter. She quickly lets him go and steps back, inwardly chastising herself for her impulsivity.
She looks down at her feet, but as Cloud lowers his arms and continues to stare at her, Tifa can't help but shyly look back. He is blushing even harder now, but somehow it only highlights his boyish good looks even further, and Tifa feels the heat somewhere deep in her body burst.
"How long have you been back in town?" Tifa asks. "Your mom didn't mention anything to me."
"My mom?" Cloud repeats incredulously, scratching the back of his head. Tifa notices that his eyes are traveling up and down her body again, seemingly drinking in every part of her. As if it were possible at this point, it makes the heat that sears her face even hotter.
Tifa can't help but giggle at the confusion that erupts across his face. "Oh, sure! I see her almost every day. We garden together sometimes, and we do a lot of baking together."
Cloud just stares at her, his mouth slightly agape, and Tifa can't help the way that the scrutiny in his eyes heightens her sense of self-consciousness. She tries to distract herself by leaning closer to him again, this time reaching for the cuff of the cowl neck of his uniform.
"So," she starts, watching as Cloud's eyes widen again when he realizes she is reaching for him. "Is this your SOLDIER uniform? It looks good on you, Cloud!"
Cloud pulls back from her, his cheeks as red as cherries as he turns away, his hand still attached to the back of his neck. He shrugs nonchalantly, and watching his reaction, Tifa wonders if she's done something wrong. She can't help the way that she steps back, willing herself to calm down in the way that she reacts towards him.
"Th-hanks," Cloud manages, and he directs his attention back to the produce again.
He doesn't say anything after that, and an awkward silence develops between them. Tifa chews the inside of her lip as she watches him, trying to figure out how what to say next and wondering if she isn't just succeeding in making a huge fool of herself. Cloud has always been somewhat aloof, but Tifa has been holding on to a quiet hope since the night on the water tower that things might be different when the war is over.
She decides to change the subject, glancing down at the empty shopping basket he carries in one hand. "Are you looking for something?" she asks him.
Cloud seems to blanch at her question, and he looks up at her again. He's still blushing and the sight of it enamors Tifa with how cute he looks. Her heart beats faster, and she can't help the way that her eyes travel, drinking in how broad Cloud's shoulders have grown, how his uniform is snug against the muscular definition of his chest beneath it.
She can't help the urge to press her thighs together, holding her shopping basket in front of her with both hands as if it is a barrier that will shield her hidden desires from him.
"Um," Cloud answers, but this time, he doesn't look away from her, and Tifa can feel the burn of his irises on her face. "I… my mom sent me to pick up scallions…"
He drifts off and Tifa catches all the hints of embarrassment in his tone. She smirks, seeing the pained expression on his face.
"Oh, the scallions are over here," she tells him, waving a hand and leading Cloud a little further down the aisle. "Right by the shallots and the vidalias."
"The what?" Cloud asks.
Tifa picks up a fresh bundle of scallions, quickly scanning them for imperfections before she turns and drops them into Cloud's basket. "What?" she says to him. "You don't know your veggies, Cloud?"
She giggles, watching as Cloud shakes his head, tearing his eyes away again. He sighs, glancing at the scallions that now sit in his basket before he looks back at her.
"Not really my thing," he tells her. "All I ate at the barracks was slop."
His eyes are holding hers again, and Tifa sees that something has shifted in the way that he looks at her. His face is still highlighted with warmth, but there's a calm expectancy in his eyes, a silent plea for more that his voice doesn't seem quite ready to ask for.
"That's too bad," Tifa replies, tossing him a smile. "I've gotten quite good at cooking, so maybe I can show you a thing or two now that you're back home."
Cloud offers her a smirk, and then, his eyes do that slow sweep of her body again. Tifa tries to think of every interaction she's had with any of the boys who have returned home since the summer - Emilio, Taylor, Lester, even Wel - and none of them are colored by the kind of silent charge that she feels after just spending a few brief moments standing across from Cloud.
"Well, I think I've got everything I need -"
"Can I walk you home?" Cloud interrupts.
Tifa turns back to him, and this time, there's no way that she can keep her smile from pulling her lips apart.
And there's no way that she can say no.
Cloud holds both his and Tifa's bags of groceries in one arm as they walk together through the quiet streets of Nibelheim, back in the direction of their homes a few blocks away. The sun hangs lower in the sky but is still visible, leaving dark streaks of gold bleeding into the approaching darkness.
Tifa is walking beside him, and her proximity has his heart leaping like a frog in his chest. She is close enough that he can smell her shampoo and the lotion in her skin, and Cloud thinks he's never smelled anything quite so sweet, probably not since his mother baked him one of his favorite creme cakes the night before he left.
He isn't sure what compelled him to boldly ask Tifa if he could walk her home, but now that he is back in her presence, he doesn't want to be away from her. He's thought about her every day since he left the village, but he never really could quite imagine just how beautiful she would grow up to be. He has to admit that he is stunned by the way that she has changed - her face has sharpened and her hair has grown long, her lips pouty and full and her eyes crimson and bright. And then, there is her body - the last time he had seen her, she had been slender and slight - but now she is nothing but curves, and the outfit she wears - a short skirt and tasseled vest made of soft cattle hide - only serves to accentuate the fullness of her heavy breasts, the sharp dip of her waist, and the round curve of her hips, all of it culminating in endlessly long legs that are tucked into heeled, leather boots.
Everything about Tifa's sudden appearance at the grocer had been so distracting, and despite his embarrassment over his failure to get into SOLDIER and the way he's fretted over his reunion with her, he can't help the way that that his heart flutters around her and the way that it's almost impossible for him not to act. He hasn't seen her in years and aside from his mom, she's the only person in this village he ever really wanted to see again.
She was his entire reason for leaving, and his failure is only eclipsed by the fact that he didn't contradict Tifa when she assumed that he did in fact make it into SOLDIER. It is simply too humiliating for him to tell her the truth, and even though he knows he can't hang onto that lie forever, he shoves the thought to the side and instead lets himself enjoy her company.
And as they pass the water tower together, Cloud doesn't miss the way that Tifa looks up at it before she glances back at him and offers him a smile.
They walk quietly together, but soon, Tifa fills the air between them with light chatter, and Cloud is more than happy to let her talk, enjoying the sound of her voice and realizing how much it has changed since he saw her last. It's no longer the voice that belongs to a girl, but one that belongs to a woman, and there is a soft, husky cadence to it that Cloud finds himself getting wrapped up in as she tells him about the changes in the village and the way that things have expanded and grown since he left.
"Shinra has a bigger presence here now," Tifa explains, gesturing to the Shinra Mansion that sits on the top of a knoll at the base of Mount Nibel. "I've been a tour guide for them since I was fifteen. But now, I spend a lot more time working at Gramp's Tavern. The wages are better."
Cloud is intrigued by this, and he glances at her out of his peripheral. "Really?" he replies.
"You should come by sometime for a drink," Tifa offers, looking back at him with another smile.
He can't get over how pretty she is when she looks at him that way, but then, Tifa has always been pretty. She was the prettiest girl in the village then and she sure still is now, though Cloud recognizes that pretty isn't a strong enough word for Tifa.
She is beautiful.
He offers her a smile in return, unable to stop the way that his cheeks glow at the subtle affection that they share. But before he can respond, he realizes they have come upon their block and are standing in front of Tifa's house, and she turns to him and holds her arms out for her groceries.
"Thanks, Cloud," she tells him as he hands the brown paper bag to her. "I hope you have a good dinner. Your mom is a really good cook, you know. She taught me a few things after Mom died."
"You cook?" Cloud asks, just imagining it.
"All the time!" Tifa exclaims proudly. "I do a lot of the cooking at Gramp's too."
Shyly, Tifa holds her smile but looks away, facing her boots where the toe of one digs into the cobblestone. Unsure of what to say, Cloud rubs the back of his neck and nods.
"Thanks for helping me at the store, Tifa," he tells her.
"Anytime," Tifa agrees, turning to make her way up the stone pathway to her front door. "I'm really glad you're home, Cloud."
The way that she says that, still holding his eyes with that deferential smile, lights his insides on fire. Cloud can hear his heartbeat now, and the insides of his palms are clammy up inside of his gloves. He shifts his weight over his feet, carefully pouring over his next words before they spill out of his mouth.
"Me too, Tifa," he tells her, and he means it. It's been too long, but this brief reunion is not enough for him. He's longing for more of that confectionary scent that lifts in waves from her hair and he's desperate to run his fingers through it.
And there is so, so much that he wants to talk to her about. About SOLDIER, about their promise, about his feelings…
"Well, goodnight then-"
"Wait," Cloud interrupts her before she can turn away. "Tifa?"
"Yes?"
"Will you… will you meet me at the water tower tonight? Midnight?"
Tifa stares at him, and Cloud can see the faint hint of color return to her cheeks. Her lips part slightly, but she says nothing in response.
"I-I just wanted for us to catch up a little. It's been a long time and there's a lot I want to talk to you about."
Cloud doesn't know where these words are coming from, but there they are, suddenly spilling out into the ether uncontrollably.
Yet Tifa is smiling again, and she rests her bag of groceries over her hip, dipping her chin slightly and fluttering her lashes in a way that Cloud finds all too endearing and enamoring.
"Okay," she agrees.
She flashes her smile and then turns away, heading into her home and leaving Cloud alone and standing on the sidewalk. He watches the back and forth of her hips as she goes, and he wonders when she had grown up so much and how much things have really changed.
He heads back next door to his own home, and his heart is beating so fast that it is nearly leaping from his throat. His hands are shaking and he is hardly aware that he is crushing his mother's groceries to his chest.
He's just gotten Tifa Lockhart, the girl he's loved for years, the girl who grew up the be the most beautiful and the sweetest, to agree to meet him for a secret date at the place where he once promised to be her hero.
His mother doesn't miss the wild look of glee on his face when he steps inside, nor does she miss the reason for it.
"I saw you talking to Tifa outside," Claudia says as she takes the groceries out of his arms in the foyer. "She has grown up to be such a wonderful and lovely young woman, wouldn't you say?"
Cloud thinks that might be the understatement of the year as he heads into his room and plops back down on his bed while his mother finishes dinner.
"She would be a nice girlfriend for you, you know," Claudia calls from the kitchen when Cloud says nothing in response. "But you'd better get a move on before another one of these young lads snaps her up!"
Cloud's ears are burning at that and he is grateful that his mother can't see his face, listening to her bright laughter emanate from the next room over.
Too bad her father hates me , he thinks in response.
Tifa holds the violet dress in front of her, running her fingers over the smooth, silky fabric as she stares back at her reflection in the mirror in her bedroom. It is another special piece of fashion that Tifa picked up at Marle's shop, something that she couldn't help but splurge a little bit of her hard-fought earnings on when it caught her eyes even though she has no place to wear it.
Until now.
It is just past eleven PM, not long after Tifa's returned from a short shift at Gramp's. She presses the dress against the curves of her body, still wrapped in a towel from the shower she's just stepped out of. In just a little while, she'll be meeting Cloud out on the water tower again, the same place where she met him seven years ago where he made her a promise and where she fell in love with him.
Seven years, but her feelings haven't changed at all. Quite the contrary, in fact. Her feelings for Cloud have been quiet and buried, but she's held them dear and she's thought of him often. But now that he has returned and now that they are together again, Tifa can't help the way that every part of her body feels alight and the way that her heart pounds at the thought of him. Every daydream that Tifa has secretly held for Cloud is now reawakened and pulses deep inside of her, and as Tifa looks down at the shimmery fabric of this dress, a short but flowing piece with a halter neckline and soft lace trim, she wonders if what is happening is even real.
Seeing Cloud all grown up had been enough to unravel her, but nothing had prepared her for his indifferent smiles or the sweet way he'd asked her if he could walk her home. And she certainly hadn't been prepared for him to ask her to meet him alone at the water tower, a place that was so, so special to her, a place where boys and girls their age committed themselves to one another all of the time.
Tifa tries not to get her hopes up too high about why Cloud asked her to meet him there or what he might say to her when she gets there. They are just old friends, after all, and the promise she had put on him was nothing more than a young girl's silly fantasy, a storybook wish to be swept off her feet by the hero of her own tale.
Still, as she twirls the dress in front of her, Tifa wonders about the possibilities.
"Meow."
Tifa looks down to see her cat, Maru, wrapping himself around her legs and looking up at her. Tifa smiles and the cat bears its fangs, and she waves the dress in the air at him.
"What do you think of my dress, Maru?" Tifa asks. Maru is almost eleven years old, a kitten when Tifa's father had brought him home for her one afternoon. He's been by her side ever since, and Tifa can't help but smile as she remembers a similar conversation she had with him the last time she had plans to meet Cloud at the water tower. "Do you think Cloud will like it? I… I think I have a date, and I want to look nice."
And not unlike the time before, Maru yawns disinterestedly and then paws away, hopping onto Tifa's bed and making himself comfortable as he curls into a ball.
Tifa smiles and turns back to her reflection in the mirror. She thinks the dress might be a little fancy for climbing to the top of the water tower, but it's pretty and she likes the way the color contrasts with her skin. And so while Maru dozes on her bed, Tifa takes her time and brushes her hair, painting kohl around the rims of her eyes and gloss to the surface of her lips, and slides into the dress, blushing slightly at the way the clingy material hugs her curves.
It's a little past midnight when Tifa finally slips out of her front door, waiting until she is certain she hears her father's quiet snores. She's old enough to go out on her own, of course, but that doesn't mean that her father doesn't like to ask questions. And Tifa certainly doesn't know how she will explain to him that she has a date with Cloud, a boy who, for reasons she still doesn't really understand, Brian Lockhart has never really liked.
She pushes that thought from her mind as she traverses through the quiet streets back to the village square. The night is dark but bright, the moon a haloed crescent up above and the stars glittering in long, effervescent bands across the spill of ink. Tifa can't help but smile at the thought of it, thinking the sky is not unlike it was that night seven years ago.
She is wearing heels that match her dress, so Tifa is careful when she reaches the water tower and makes her way up the rusted ladder that is bolted to its side. She gets to the top, carefully making her way around the wooden ledge that anchors the basin to the support pillar. As she comes around the side, she sees Cloud leaning against the basin with one knee pulled up to his chest, his head tipped back as he looks up at the stars.
Tifa isn't sure why, but as soon as she sees him, her knees turn to water and her heart begins to throb, her breath coming out in tiny puffs against the autumn breeze. Cloud is facing away from her and hasn't noticed that she's there, and from where she stands, Tifa can see that he's changed out of his uniform and is dressed casually in jeans and a dark, form-fitting t-shirt. For the first time, she can see just how well defined his muscles actually are, the ripples of his biceps curving against the material of his shirt.
Carefully, Tifa swallows and licks her lips, tasting the sweet cherry of her lip gloss. She makes her way in his direction, and the heels of her shoes click against the wood.
He turns to her, his eyes widening when they land on her. Tifa notices the way that he looks her up and then down, drinking in her appearance. For a moment, it makes her feel self-conscious, and she is suddenly worried that she is overdressed for this occasion. She doesn't want to give him the impression that she is trying too hard.
"Heya," she greets him when he just continues to stare, and carefully, she smooths her skirt under her as she crouches to sit. "Did I keep you waiting?"
Cloud licks his lips, and for some reason, the sight of it makes Tifa's heart flip in her chest. He blinks as if he is remembering himself, and he shakes his head, seemingly unable to pull his eyes away from the way that he stares at her.
"Uh… n-no. I just got here. Um, you look nice, Tifa."
He finally turns away, looking back up at the night sky. Tifa can't stop herself from smiling at the compliment, feeling the rosy heat infect her cheeks once more. She offers him a sidelong glance, quietly admiring the way that his golden hair shimmers like citrine glass under the moonlight and the way that his bicep flexes every time he fidgets his hand where it rests over his knee.
"I could say the same about you," Tifa rejoins, and she's almost surprised by the coquettish lilt in her voice. "SOLDIER sure put some muscles on you, huh?"
She can feel the heat race up both sides of her neck at her own bold words, but she can't stop them from rushing out. She's worked in a tavern and is no stranger to stroking the male ego, and with Cloud, it happens with such natural ease.
So she isn't prepared when he blanches slightly, leaning away from her when he looks even further away from her.
Tifa wonders then if she was being too forward. She remembers that Cloud had always been a shy kid - in fact, in the years before he left the village, they had only spoken on a few occasions. That, of course, she knew had been because of their accident on the mountain and her father's wrath concerning it, but nonetheless, she was no stranger to his coolness.
Still, after the promise they'd shared, she had been hoping for a little more warmth, and now she sits there confused, wondering why he asked her out here.
She stares down at the ground that is a good twenty feet below, nervously swinging her feet back and forth as an awkward silence grows between them. She thinks about what she should say, but nothing seems like it would be quite right, and now, she is doubting herself.
Should she ask him about the war?
Should she ask him why he brought her out here again?
Should she ask him if he plans to stay in town, plans to find a wife?
"Tifa?"
Tifa is quickly torn out of the confusion of her thoughts, and she turns back to him, finding him again with bright cheeks and his hand attached to the back of his neck. She tilts her head at him, wondering what he wants to say.
"Hm?"
"I… I have something I need to tell you."
Cloud looks away again, and Tifa can read the distress that is etched across his face. She wants to reach out and touch his arm to console him, but she resists, instead patiently waiting for him to tell her whatever it is that is weighing him down.
"Yes?"
Cloud doesn't continue for a long moment, and the stretch of silence only makes Tifa feel even more anxious. But finally, he blows out a puff of air and finally shifts, turning his body to face hers and lowering his knee.
"Tifa," he begins, "I - I never made it into SOLDIER. I'm an infantryman."
Tifa stares at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It seems like such an odd statement - to Tifa, the military is the military, and even though she knows SOLDIER is an elite organization, at the end of the day, it is all the same to her. They go to war and they fight for Shinra, and whether Cloud is a part of SOLDIER or the infantry or any other public security division, Tifa has always worried about him and always waited and wanted for him to come home.
Still, she doesn't miss the embarrassed expression of self-disappointment that ripples across Cloud's face, especially when he looks down at his boots and shakes his head.
Without thinking about it, Tifa scoots closer to Cloud on the ledge and leans into him until their shoulders are almost touching. "Oh?" she says. "So the infantry put all those muscles on you? I would love to hear all about it, Cloud."
Her body almost acting on its own accord, she reaches up and gently squeezes his bicep to emphasize.
Cloud flushes, and taken aback, he looks back at her with those stunned blue eyes and blinks as he digests what she's said and the way that she touches him. Tifa smiles, her lips glimmering under the skylights above, hoping that she can put him at ease.
"I…" Cloud stammers, his eyes glued to her face, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows hard. "You... you're not disappointed?"
Tifa leans in even closer. "Why would I be disappointed?" she says. "You made it into the army! Emilio failed his apprenticeship. Don't tell him I told you that, though!"
Tifa giggles, and Cloud cracks the faintest hint of a smirk as some of the tension that was woven through him falters. He turns his upper body to face her again, leaning in so that the space between them becomes almost nonexistent.
"It just," Cloud goes on, looking down at his hands now. "I promised you I would make it into SOLDIER and that I would come back and be your hero. I - I failed you."
He says this with such serious conviction that Tifa can feel the moment that her heart shatters. It beats wildly in her chest, and the familiar heat that's been ebbing and flowing all throughout her body ever since she ran into him earlier that night at the grocer is pulsing with a dull throb that aches.
"Cloud," Tifa breathes quietly, and she reaches across her lap to find his hand, taking it in hers. She can't resist the urge to touch him, especially not after he shared a sentiment like that. "You didn't fail me, Cloud. I never cared about you getting into SOLDIER. I never cared about any of that. All… all I ever cared about was you coming back to me."
Cloud seems genuinely surprised by this, judging from the way that his eyebrows raise on his face. He blinks, then cocks his head to the side almost as if he doesn't comprehend what she has said.
"Huh?" he blurts. "Really? But Tifa, I -"
"You made a promise to come back," Tifa insists. "And now you're here. That's all that matters."
Her heart pitter-patters, and she wonders if she is jumping in too fast and too deep. But she is rewarded when Cloud offers her the faintest hint of a smile, and his hand tightens around hers.
"I… Thanks, Tifa."
"I'm really glad you're back, Cloud," Tifa says, and feeling the warmth of his gloveless palm wrapped around hers sets wings to her soul. "Really glad."
And without another thought, Tifa lays her head on his shoulder, looking up at the stars and silently thanking them.
A promise kept.
Cloud feels Tifa's head tip to the side and fall gently to his shoulder, and in the process, her hair slides like the unraveling of silk sheets across the bare skin of his arm. She settles so peacefully against him that Cloud can't help the compulsion to carefully slide his arm behind her, resting his palm on the wood of the tower's ledge so that she can settle more comfortably against the inside of his body.
His heart races and pounds, and every nerve in his body is set on edge. Cloud's biggest fear in coming back to this village was facing Tifa and telling her the truth about his failures in the big city. Yet he knew that he could not keep it from her forever, not if he planned to stay here and certainly not if he ever planned to actually try and court her the way he had resolved to long before he'd even made that promise to her on this very same water tower.
This failure is just an echo of his past failure, one that had him keeping his distance from her all those years ago and one that is the reason that her father will probably never want him anywhere near her, whether he made it into SOLDIER or not.
Bearing forth that kernel of truth about himself had not been easy, and even now after her acceptance, he still feels the water in his gut. But he hadn't been prepared for Tifa to not only not care that he hadn't made it into SOLDIER, but for her to express that she only cares about him .
And now she is practically laying on him, dressed in a shimmery and thin purple-blue dress that barely reaches the midpoint of her thighs, one long leg tucked under her while the other dangles dangerously off of the ledge of the water tower.
She smells like roses and candy. Her hair feels like satin. And her lips shine like cellophane.
Cloud is having a really hard time controlling the reactions of his body and an even harder time trying to decide what he should do next.
"Would you tell me about the war?" Tifa suddenly asks after too many long moments of him fretting over what to do and say transpire. He feels a tingle erupt throughout his entire body, and he looks down to see that Tifa is now dragging her fingertips along the inside of his palm where they continue to hold hands.
The sensation calms him because the mention of the war causes the muscles in his neck to tense up with anxiety. He shifts slightly, letting his fingers tease back at Tifa's hand.
"It… it's kind of boring, Tifa," he tells her as plainly as he can. "A lot of fighting on the front, just outside of the shorelines to the East, near Fort Tamblin. That's where I was stationed, anyway. We were charged with keeping the Wutains from leaving the continent and heading toward the Eastern Continent, where Midgar is."
"That doesn't sound boring at all," Tifa trills at his side. "It sounds dangerous, though. Did you… did you ever get hurt? Or wounded?"
Cloud swallows, thinking of the skirmishes he and his squadron had gotten into during those long tours he served overseas. He doesn't think that Tifa really wants to hear about this, and he thinks that she probably shouldn't hear about it, either. So he treads carefully, not wanting to shatter her innocence with the grotesque reality of war.
"Nothing too serious," he brushes it off. "Just a couple of scars."
"Really?" Tifa responds. She curls in even closer to him, and Cloud feels all of her warmth plaster itself to his ribs and his thigh. "Maybe you could show them to me sometime?"
There is a playful, flirtatious cadence to her voice that has Cloud's cheeks hot again, and she snuggles up against him in a way that is far too obviously suggestive and seeking. As much as he is trying to be respectful, Cloud likes Tifa, no, is in love with Tifa , and he is a hot-blooded male who cannot keep his body from reacting. His arm that is positioned carefully behind her raises and wraps around her waist, holding her to him until he hears the unmistakable sigh of contentment that she emits.
"Maybe," he agrees, trying not to reveal how excited the idea makes him. He decided to skirt over it by changing the subject. "But Tifa… the war really was boring, and so is the army. I'd much rather hear about you."
Tifa doesn't say anything at first, and glancing at her, Cloud sees the diffident way that she looks down, her eyes on her feet again. She's biting into her lower lip, and Cloud has to actively fight the urge to lean down and crush that pouty mouth against his.
Instead of doing that, though, he squeezes her hand gently and tightens his hold around her waist to encourage her. He is mesmerized by the heat of her body that emanates through the thin fabric of her dress and presses into him, and when she shivers, Cloud can't help but hold her even closer, wanting badly to comfort her and keep her warm.
"Oh, it's nothing much, Cloud," Tifa finally sighs. "You know the village. I've been here all along. Training with Zangan, and working in the mountains, and now, the tavern -"
"Zangan?" Cloud interrupts. "Mountains? Tavern?"
Tifa giggles, and Cloud listens, mesmerized as she tells him about her life in the space of time since they've been apart, seven years of separation where they grew into different versions of themselves but where they never forgot about one another or what they both meant to the other.
She starts by talking about her job at the tavern, where she bartends several nights a week and cooks for the locals and the occasional traveler who passes through town, her cooking the main attraction of the clientele. And when she tells him that his mother, Claudia, is the one who taught her how to cook, Cloud blushes.
She tells him how she's trained with the legendary martial artist Master Zangan, learning the ways of spirit and body and mind, all in a search to make herself more efficient and self-reliant, especially after her mother died. Cloud teases her, intrigued to see her skills on the battlefield and to see if she is any match for him, who learned how to spar in the army. Tifa insists she can kick his ass, and Cloud isn't sure why this turns him on so much.
And she regales him with tales of her work as a tour guide on Mount Nibel, bringing the new Shinra workers and inspectors to the reactor that is buried high in the hills. This surprises Cloud the most, especially after the accident when Tifa had only been eight and he nine, when they had both fallen from the cliff face and Tifa had nearly died.
He shakes the memory from his mind, but it stirs up his latent worries, ones he's been thinking about ever since he called her out to this water tower seven years ago in the first place and that trouble him now that he sits up here with her again.
"You're pretty impressive," he tells her, and he means it. Cloud's lived in Nibelheim long enough to know the village's traditionalist expectations of men and women alike. He doubts most of the other girls in town would be so bold to do the things that Tifa has done in the years they've been apart. It only deepens his desire for her and makes him want to grow closer to her in so many more ways.
He's always wanted to protect her, he knows. But that she is so capable without him somehow sweetens the entire package.
"When did you get so sweet?" Tifa joshes back, leaning up to look at him.
Their faces are only inches apart, and the stars fall like glitter all across Tifa's porcelain features. Her candy-apple red eyes shine and gleam, her lashes dark and full canopies that surround them as she blinks and stares up at him. She licks her lips and then looks down at his mouth, and when her lips part, Cloud can't stop himself.
He lets go of her hand and lifts it to her chin, and he kisses her.
The connection is nothing more than the lightest press of soft flesh because Cloud is too afraid and too inexperienced to do this with any more boldness than he's managed to muster thus far this night. But he cannot resist Tifa, cannot ignore the magnetic pull that lives between them, the same pull that has been dragging him behind her ever since they were children.
Tifa gasps out a tiny moan, and the sound lights up Cloud's groin, his skin flushing and growing hot. She tastes like fruit, that sweet stickiness that shone under the celestial glows above now greeting the tip of his tongue. His fingers lace through her hair, and Tifa wraps her arms around his shoulders, bringing their bodies close together so that he can feel the softness of her breasts press into his chest.
Their closed-mouth kiss seems to go on forever, and Cloud thinks that he has stopped breathing. Even so, he refuses to stop, and the moment doesn't end until Tifa finally severs it, slowly breaking away.
Her lips are wet and Cloud knows that it's not from her lip gloss anymore but from his own saliva. Their eyes meet, and the way that Tifa flushes brightly when she smiles at him, her crimson eyes sparkling in the moonlight, has Cloud's face burning with warmth, too.
"Cloud?" she calls his name softly as he fights to recapture his breath.
"Yeah?" he replies, far too eagerly.
"Do you…" she looks down as she tries to unearth her words, and Cloud doesn't miss the way that she bites her lip again. When did she start doing that? Goddamnit, it's cute.
"Tifa?" he presses, desperate to hear what she is going to say after he crossed that line with her.
"Do you want to come over?" she finally asks.
Cloud tries to process what Tifa has just said. Does he want to come over? As in, to her house? To spend time with her? To… to do what exactly?
More kissing ? A voice inside of him screams.
"Come over?" he echoes the torrential thoughts in his mind. "You mean, to your house? Right now?"
Tifa nods her head, her eyes holding his. "Uh-huh."
Cloud suddenly doesn't know what to do with his hands because he realizes they are shaking, and he rubs the back of his neck with one. "Um… but what about your dad -"
"He sleeps like the dead," Tifa interrupts him, and then, she is pulling away from him and getting to her feet. As soon as Cloud realizes what she is doing, he quickly does the same, not hesitating to take her by the wrist with one hand and the waist with the other to keep her steady as they navigate along the water tower's ledge.
"Are you sure?" Cloud asks. He's only going to ask this once because the longer the idea seeds itself in his mind, the more Cloud realizes there is nothing more he wants to do than spend the night with Tifa Lockhart.
"I'm sure," Tifa answers brightly, and Cloud catches a husky, lustful cadence in her voice that he doesn't think he's ever heard before. She is pulling him along, leading him toward the ladder, and Cloud finds himself following behind her the way he has for his entire life.
He will never, ever be able to say no to Tifa.
Tifa's knees feel like jelly, but she does her best to ignore it as she carefully slides her key into the lock of the front door of her home and twists. Cloud is a pace behind her, and she can hear his breathing, can feel the heat of his body against hers.
It is far past one o'clock in the morning by now, but even so, Tifa is careful as she steps inside her home. It is dark inside, and the only sounds aside from their light footsteps are the creaks of the house as it settles over the foundation. Tifa turns back to Cloud and presses her finger to her lips to keep him quiet, and he nods in silent agreement.
And then, feeling the flames of desire lick at the inside of her thighs again, Tifa reaches behind her for his hand and quietly leads him towards the staircase that leads upstairs to her bedroom.
Tifa's heart is still thrumming with the mad pace that it was not long ago atop the water tower, triggered by the way that Cloud leaned in and kissed her so softly and so longingly that it is a wonder she hadn't swooned herself right over the tower's ledge.
She is still lightheaded from the entire experience, her and Cloud slowly but shyly creeping closer and closer to one another as they sat together on that sacred spot of theirs until they were nearly cuddling. Tifa is enamored by the way that Cloud quietly opened up to her, the way that despite his obvious insecurity and misgivings, he was willing to be honest with her. And she is blown away by the way that he listened to her and the way that he held her so gently and yet so respectfully, the way that his arms made her feel safe and his hands made her feel loved, the way that his kiss made her feel wanted.
So there was no stopping the rise of her pulse or the rush of heat in her body, the way her nerve endings began to sizzle, and the way that sensitive, hidden parts of her body were suddenly signaling her. Tifa has never been with any boy in any way, ever - they've all been away from the village for years and she has never wanted any of them but one, anyway - but she understands her body enough to know there is no ignoring the way that it responds to Cloud.
Hence why her impulsivity has her on tiptoes, with her heels in one hand and Cloud's palm in the other as they pass her father's door, his deep snores reverberating from within. Tifa knows it is likely he's smothered himself into sleep with a few tumblers of whiskey, and so as long as they are quiet, they are safe.
She brings Cloud to the opposite end of the hall where her bedroom sits, and she looks back at him with a final reticent look before she pushes the door open, leading him inside.
Her room is well-sized, a four-poster bed against one window while her desk sits under the other. Her piano is across from the bed, along with her dresser and bookcase, and the room is outfitted in dark oak and soft hues of coral and peach, from the throw rug to the wallpaper and the bedsheets.
Tifa closes the door while Cloud stands in the center of the room, looking around with confusion plain on his face. Tifa simply smiles at him, trying to bury the wild fury with which her heart thunders inside of her chest. She drops her shoes in one corner and slides past Cloud, taking a seat on her bed as she looks up at him.
"You should take your boots off," she tells him, noting the way he has already tracked bits of dirt onto her floral patterned throw rug.
Cloud blinks and then does as she says right away, bending at the knee to unzip his combat boots before he slides them into the corner next to her stilettos. When he gets back to his feet, he looks at her expectantly, rubbing the back of his neck, completely unsure of what to do.
Tifa scoots over, closer to the head of the bed. She pats the space beside her.
"Sit down?" she invites him nervously.
Despite his seeming confusion and hesitation, once she gestures, Cloud moves quickly to sit beside her. Tifa notices that he doesn't leave much space between them at all, his thigh touching hers and the cool, clean scent of his soap filling her senses. Her room is dark aside from the galactic light that shines in through her windows, and it washes his pale skin with a periwinkle glow, highlighting the curves of his muscles and the strong slope of his jaw.
"So…" Cloud starts, turning to her, his body facing hers fully. His voice is so soft and rumbly, betraying something wanton that he seems afraid to ask directly for. It sends prickles of feverish heat all across her skin, and when he breathes again, Tifa realizes he is so close she can feel his breath on her jaw.
"I want to kiss again," she blurts, unable to hold back and needing desperately to motivate him to take action.
She sees the way that Cloud swallows, and he licks his lips the way that he did on the water tower. Something seems to pass in the blue flash of his eyes, and he leans in. Tifa wonders if she is imagining the almost devilish and self-satisfied smirk that ghosts the corner of his mouth.
In the next moment, Cloud has taken one of Tifa's wrists in hand while the other finds her cheek, and his lips are on hers before she can close her eyes in anticipation. They are so soft and so warm, melting her like butter where she sits.
He parts them slightly, offering the seam of her mouth a gentle poke with the tip of his tongue. Tifa has never been kissed before, but already tonight she has been kissed twice.
And she's being kissed by Cloud, the boy who she has loved since the stars fell on them both so many years ago.
Tifa brings her arms up and around Cloud's neck, holding him close, desperate to have him near. It presses the fronts of their bodies together, her breasts crushed against the firm wall of his chest and sending tiny sparks through her nipples as they stiffen and twist. Cloud rumbles a sound deep in his throat, and his hand tightens around her wrist as he leans over her, his fingers digging into the bend of her waist through the flimsy fabric of her dress.
Their tongues begin a sinful dance, and Tifa realizes that although this is her first experience, kissing is a sensation she never wants to let go of. The feel and taste of Cloud's mouth and the way that they move together has her trembling, her thighs slightly parting as she feels herself grow slick. Cloud's body is heavy and hard, and the weight of his body as they sway together through their kiss is a new but welcome feeling that Tifa realizes she wants more of, badly.
They make out that way for long moments, and Tifa has discovered her fondness for sucking on Cloud's bottom lip when he abruptly pulls away. His lips are wet and he is flushed red, his eyes glassy and bright. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and Tifa's heart slams into her ribs as she wonders what she's done wrong.
"Tifa," Cloud rasps, clearly out of breath. "We… we have to stop."
"Why?" Tifa nearly whines, and she hates how desperate she sounds, how badly she wants to stamp her feet in frustration.
Cloud shakes his head and Tifa can see the strain that's evident across his features. He looks conflicted and maybe even a little uncomfortable, and Tifa frets. She knows this is her first time making out with a boy, but is she really that bad?
"If I don't stop now, Tifa, I won't be able to control myself," Cloud finally explains. "I… I won't be able to stop. I want you too much."
Tifa doesn't understand what she is hearing. "I don't want to stop," she tells him.
Cloud meets eyes with her again, and Tifa can see the stagnated desire that has blown his pupils wide. He huffs out a breath, then lets go of her wrist, backing away from her slightly.
"Tifa," he whispers earnestly, and the way her name resonates so softly from those pretty lips that were just pressed to hers reduces her to liquid. "This… this isn't the right way. I'm supposed to take you out, and we should -"
Tifa can see where this is headed, and so she cuts him off swiftly, pressing her finger to his lips. "Shh," she quiets him. "Cloud… we haven't seen each other in years. And you promised to be there for me, right?"
"Of course," he pledges right away.
"Then be here," she pleads. "With me. I want to be with you."
Tifa could never imagine the boldness with which she speaks, but at this moment, there is no other way. It has been less than twelve hours but her feelings have coalesced into something she can no longer contain, and she grabs Cloud's wrist this time, leaning forward to kiss him again.
This kiss is even fiercer than the last, and Tifa presses her body to Cloud's with such force that he falls backward with his head on her pillow, her body on top of his. The firm, sculpted definition of his torso has her own muscles slackening, and Tifa doesn't even realize the way she crawls over him in her attempt to keep their lips connected.
Cloud's hands both come to rest on her back, and Tifa holds him by his shoulders as they kiss. Right away her thighs part over him, and she can feel the evidence of his desire, his thick hardness pressing into the softness of her skin through his pants. Her dress has ridden up, and she can feel the roughness of his palms and his fingertips on her bare back as his hands begin to roam.
Desire takes over and Tifa begins to rotate her hips, her clit throbbing viciously now and seeking any friction that will grant it some relief. She squeezes her thighs tight over him, lowering her hips so that her center rubs against the stiff ridge of his erection. Cloud groans into her lips, pulling away slightly so they can meet eyes again.
"Tifa," he breathes. "Are you sure about this?"
She loves that he keeps asking for consent but she is too far gone and is ready for him to take her places she's never been before. She nods slowly, her eyes focusing on his mouth before she looks back into his eyes.
"Yes," she replies. "But Cloud, I need more. Please."
Cloud's expression softens, and he nods slowly as if he understands exactly what she needs. She hopes that he does because she is ready to lay it all on the line for him.
Cloud rolls them over so that they are in the center of her bed and he is on top of her, and Tifa moans at his weight when it presses her into her mattress. He cradles her close to him with his arm under her body, and his other hand rests on her hip.
"I've never done this before," he admits.
Tifa reaches up to lightly touch his cheek, finding him to be adorable. "It's okay," she reassures him. "Neither have I."
Cloud blushes severely and nuzzles her neck in an attempt to hide it, planting soft kisses to the flesh there. Tifa giggles at the sensation and then sighs, curving her neck to offer more of herself to him.
He drags one hand along the side of her body, tracing his finger over her hip bone.
"Is this okay?"
"Yes," Tifa answers.
Cloud lifts his hand to her right breast. "And?"
"Please," she purrs.
He gently thumbs her nipple, and Tifa melts. She becomes putty, puddling away for release.
"Just tell me what you like," he says.
"More of that," she chants back. And he does more, Tifa arching her back as he kneads her breast in his hand. He drops his lips to her throat, leaving her with soft kisses that trail a line across her skin and has her writhing.
Cloud follows the responsiveness of her body as if he is a conductor commanding an orchestra, his touches moving in rhythm with the beat of her heart and the rush of air from her lungs. He thumbs her nipple, brushing it into a hard peak that has soft moans escaping her throat. Tifa widens her thighs, and Cloud notices because he runs his hand down her belly and then settles it right there .
As soon as she feels the flat of his palm over her clothed heat, Tifa whines out a plea for more. Cloud leans in and kisses her cheek and then her lips, and three fingers begin to stroker her right over the center of her panties. Tifa feels the scorch across her clit, pleasure blinding her as she tosses her head back and cries. Surprised, Cloud glances at her and blinks.
"You okay?" he asks her softly.
Tifa trembles and nods, lifting her hips so that she can increase the pressure of his fingertips against her clit.
"More, please," she purrs. "I love it."
Cloud nods in understanding and rubs her more, and Tifa tries her best to hold back her cries of pleasure, not wanting to awaken her father down the hall. But it feels so good, and it is Cloud who is making her feel this way, the boy she's been in love with more than half her life and the only boy she'd ever let see or touch her this way.
Cloud grows bold then, pulling her panties down her hips and tossing them to the side. Tifa watches with her lips parted and soft pants escaping her lips when he brings his fingers back to her clit, rubbing wide circles over it. Her entire body tightens, pleasure running wires through every nerve, her belly coiling tight.
"Cloud," she coos, feeling herself grow close.
Cloud doesn't relent. He focuses his attention on her face, watching her reactions as he continues to rub her sore clit into a state of absolute oblivion. She moans and he covers her mouth, muffling her sounds, and the combination of his sweetness and his control quickly sends her over the edge. Tifa has never had an orgasm before, but she knows the moment that she does because every single one of her senses explodes. Her entire body is brimming over with pleasure and she has never felt so in love in her life.
She moans into his hand as her climax takes her, and Cloud comforts her all the way through. When she peaks, he lifts his hand away and cradles and kisses her, laving her with affection. When she finally comes down, there are tears on her cheeks and she is clutching him as if afraid she will lose him forever.
"Tifa," he breathes into her jaw. "I want to be inside of you so bad."
Her heart flutters at his desperate attempt to ask for permission.
As if she would ever deny him.
"Please," she responds. "Please make love to me."
Cloud doesn't need any further instruction than that. He sits up and quickly disrobes, shredding all of his clothing and discarding it all to the side. Tifa is so wet from her first climax, but watching him strip and seeing the smooth, muscular perfection of his naked body only sends her further into orbit, her center slick and ready for him. He leans over her and kisses her, but Tifa can't take her eyes off of the thick, hard length of his cock where he holds it in his hand, leaking over her thigh.
"Are you sure?" he asks again.
"I want you," is all she can manage in response.
He nods and leans forward, kissing her sweetly. As he does so, she feels him press the tip of his length to her opening. She spreads her thighs more and flinches, but he distracts her with kisses as he presses all the way inside.
She moans and gasps, feeling a singe of pain accompanied by an incredible fullness. He stretches her, and Tifa is overwhelmed by the sensation. She clutches him and whimpers, and Cloud kisses her again before he sighs.
"Tifa," he breathes. "You feel… incredible."
"I love you," she says without thinking.
She wants to take it back but it's too late and there is nothing she can do but stare into his eyes. They've grown wide and he blinks, stunned by her statement. He throbs inside of her, and without warning, Tifa begins to cry.
As soon as the first tear rolls down her cheek, Cloud is shaking his head, cradling her in his arms. He kisses her again, and then his eyes meet hers once more.
"I love you too," he tells her. "I'm gonna marry you."
Tifa is trying to comprehend that statement when he begins to work his hips over hers, building a slow but steady and penetrating rhythm. He pushes against her walls and strokes a spot inside of her that Tifa had no idea even existed, and when her moans begin to climb in volume, he covers her mouth again. He whispers his love and devotion to her with every thrust, and Tifa can hardly believe what she is hearing. And she isn't prepared for her second orgasm, euphoria breaking her into tiny shards of glass as she shatters for him and him alone.
He rights himself just in time and empties his seed on her thigh before collapsing at her side. They both huff and puff, desperate for air to fill their lungs. Tifa can barely think, and her entire body is shivering.
But only a moment passes before Cloud leans over and wraps his arms around her, pulling her in close.
"Love you," he tells her again, and she is dizzy from hearing it. "That was so good. I'm gonna make love to you all the time."
She hugs him back and starts to weep, and Cloud kisses every tear away. She is giddy with joy and affection, feeling as if she's been drugged by his love.
"I love you too," she says. "Did you mean it?"
"Mean what?" he asks.
"That… you would marry me?"
Tifa's heart is pounding when they meet eyes again. But Cloud just offers her a lazy smile before he nods.
"Of course," he responds. "That was always the plan, anyway. I'll figure out a way to handle your dad."
Tifa laughs, but he interrupts it with another kiss. And then they make love again, and again, and again, until the sun begins to rise and Tifa quietly sneaks him out the back door.
And in the days and weeks that follow, Cloud courts her and it is not long before the entire village knows that Tifa Lockhart is going to become the wife of the Strife boy.
And for them both, there is nothing more that they have ever wanted.