AN: Written for C. Nichole as an embarrassingly long overdue gift. Once again, I suppose you could say it belongs in The Path To Redemption-verse.
Prompt: Vincent/Tifa, Herbal Tea.
The color of envy isn't green.
(round two)
When he calls her after lunch, she sounds like he's interrupted something. When he asks her what she's in the middle of, he hears, "Herbal tea...with, um, Vincent."
Normally he'd feel sorry for Vincent—Cloud thinks they're still friends, after all—but the little giggle before she hangs up has him wondering. He starts up his bike and heads home immediately.
On a good day this route takes him forty-five minutes; today it takes him thirty. He enters Seventh Heaven and sees Vincent on his way out. As they nod to each other, Cloud searches Vincent's face for signs of cheap lipstick. Seeing none, he says "Later" at Vincent's "Farewell" then chuckles to himself when he catches a whiff of chamomile as the front door closes.
He finds Tifa on the stairs, coming down as he's going up. She's clutching several glass jars that he recognizes from a kitchen shelf. "Cloud," she says, "you're home early."
"Yeah," is all he says back. There's a pretty blush to her skin. Her hair's piled in a loose bun on top of her head and stray tendrils are clinging to her neck.
"Oh. Well, I'm off to get Marlene from school," she says, passing by him. In her wake, he catches another whiff of chamomile. When he hears the front door close, his eyes suddenly narrow.
He takes the rest of the stairs two at a time. When he reaches the top, he heads straight to the bathroom. He smells it before he even reaches the doorway; a quick walk in and a glance at the tub would surely confirm it.
But Cloud finds he doesn't have to. He's already seeing red. Again.
Comments are appreciated!