Chapter Twenty-Six
Intermezzo
"Hold still, Cloud. You're lucky the Highwind had a spare first-aid kit, you know," Tifa admonished, her scolding tone checked but still definitely there. "I might end up getting the antibacterial in your eyes if you keep twitching like that."
"Damn it, it stings," Cloud complained, involuntarily jerking away again when Tifa's fingers holding the cotton swab descended on his nose again. "Ow!"
"How come you can stand being stitched up or having broken limbs set with no anesthetic, but when it comes to being treated for a tiny scratch you're such a big baby?" Tifa shifted her voice and made it deeper in tone, imitating a not particularly bright warrior. "Me big, bad fighting machine! Me strong as bull!"
"I do not sound like that," Cloud retorted indignantly. "You know, I really don't think that's supposed to be used on open wounds."
"Oh, hush," Tifa chided. "Do you want it to get infected? Where would you be if you couldn't fight just because of a little scratch that gave you a fever?"
Cloud resorted to muttering under his breath as Tifa continued treating him, concentrating on controlling his rather sensitive facial muscles so that they only twitched a little bit when the chemical came in contact with the wound. The "scratch", however, was not as tiny as Cloud believed it to be and Tifa said it was to reassure him. It was the length of Tifa's index finger and, although shallow, had bled rather profusely. The first step Tifa had taken was to compress the wound with a length of gauze, instructing Cloud to hold it firmly in place and switching the gauze once the previous one had soaked through until the wound had stopped bleeding. While he had done that, she had taken care of the scratches on his hands and bound both of them with neat wraps of white bandages. She had then quickly washed the disturbingly large amount of dried blood away from the face wound with fresh water from the Highwind before beginning with the disinfectant, which was where the real trouble with Cloud had begun.
He's going to be scarred for life there, Tifa thought as she capped the bottle of antibacterial and replaced it within the metal first-aid box. After searching for a minute, she found a lengthy bandage that would fit over Cloud's wound.
"I am going to look very stupid with this thing on," Cloud commented as Tifa taped the bandage into place. "Can't you just leave it be?"
Tifa shot him a look as she ripped off another piece of tape from the roll. "Your dignity isn't worth getting sick over an infection, Cloud. Once it's healed well enough, the bandage can come off so that your scratch can get a little air. Until then, this is just to protect it and to make sure that if it reopens, it'll keep the blood from getting into your eyes."
Cloud muttered discontentedly under his breath and remained silent afterwards until Tifa had finished with the bandage. He watched with his glowing sapphire eyes as Tifa closed up the first-aid box, latching it shut with deft movements of her surprisingly slender hands.
"Tifa, I think you should go back to Wutai for now."
Tifa looked up at him with a sharp jerk of her head, brown eyes widening in surprise. "What?"
"I mean it," Cloud insisted. "We're going to be facing things even more dangerous after this, and with Sephiroth popping up when we least expect him to…well, it's got me a bit worried. If he can draw blood on me when he isn't even touching me, then what do you think he'll be able to do to you?"
"I can take care of myself," Tifa returned stiffly. "Don't worry about it."
"It's not that I'm worried about you being able to take care of yourself as much as I'm worried about…" Cloud stopped. "Look, I just really think that you'd be better of if you went to somewhere safe."
"As if I'm not safe right here? What about Aeris and Yuffie? How come you're not trying to send them back?"
"Are you kidding me? I'm just a teensy bit afraid of Yuffie's sharp tongue, you know. If I tried to send her back, she'd be on my case for the rest of my life. And Aeris isn't my responsibility; she's Vincent's daughter, after all. It's really his decision whether or not she should be sent away. Even then, her revival means that she's probably going to play a rather large role in this. It might be better if she stayed."
Tifa bristled at Cloud's seemingly thoughtless explanations. "That's not saying why you think I should go back and not anyone else."
Cloud sighed, looking as if Tifa's stubbornness and his newly acquired wound were both giving him the grandfather of all headaches. "Tifa, please. I'd be able to fight easier if I knew that you were somewhere safe."
Tifa shook her head firmly. "Cloud, think about it. How do you know that Wutai is safe? Sephiroth was born and raised there in this life; he might return there to destroy it just because of this perverse kill-the-family thing that is running through his head now." She winced inwardly at her heartless comment, but doggedly continued speaking. "The safest place for any of us would be right here with the rest of the group. We have you, Vincent, and the King of the dragons all together in one spot, for crying out loud. Wutai's warriors wouldn't stand a chance against Sephiroth; none of them are up to par with even you. They're all mostly hunters and ninja right now, and even though you've been training most of them, they still don't have the fighting stamina you have. They won't be able to stand for even a minute against Sephiroth, and knowing their intense pride and sense of togetherness, they'd all fight to the death to protect Wutai."
"You know, flattery isn't going to stop me from trying to keep you away from the fight," Cloud remarked dryly.
"It'll help, won't it?" Tifa smiled despite herself and the desperate sense inside of her that cried to her to stay as close to Cloud as she could. "We've been together for so much of this, Cloud. Let's keep it that way, okay?"
"I still don't like it."
"You know that I'd be in the front lines against Sephiroth if he did show up at Wutai. At least this way, you'll be able to protect me, if that's what you want to do."
"Okay, okay, I got it. You can stay." Cloud snorted, disgruntled.
"That's my big, bad fighting machine." Tifa wrapped her arms around Cloud's neck from behind him, laughing into his back. She raised her head to peer over Cloud's shoulder, trying to catch his eyes. "What brought this up, anyway?"
Cloud rubbed the bandage that covered his wound in response, raising an eyebrow. "That. Tifa, I really don't want to see something like this happening to you again. I already stood by helplessly enough once while you—"
"That was nine years ago, Cloud! I was fifteen, and stupid enough to try and stop someone who was beyond my capability to stop!" Tifa protested.
"How do you know that you can't stop him this time, too?" Cloud asked sharply, but his expression softening in regret as soon as he had let those words out of his mouth. "Tifa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. But Sephiroth's stronger than he ever was before, and the thought of you hurt and dying again…I hurt just as much as you did when Sephiroth almost killed you nine years ago, and…I…"
Tifa hugged Cloud tighter, her voice muffled as she buried her face into his shoulder once more. "It hurts me when it happens to you, too, Cloud. I…I don't want to see you getting hurt, either."
"Hey, hey. Don't worry. When the time comes, Sephiroth isn't going to be able to lay even a finger on me." Cloud felt the pressure on his shoulder intensify as Tifa pressed herself closer to him.
"He…he didn't even touch you this time, dummy." Her voice trembled as if she were going to burst out in tears any minute now.
"Ouch! Man, I'm glad the rest of the guys are inside. Hey, are you okay, Tifa? Is it getting too cold out here? Maybe we should go back in now." Cloud craned his neck over his shoulder, the only thing visible being Tifa's bowed head. "You're shaking."
Tifa turned her face upwards, staring past Cloud's concerned eyes and into the deep ebony of the night sky. "Do you remember when we were kids…and we used to go stargazing on the well in Nibelheim?"
"Yeah." Cloud could also remember that same well falling to the flames of Sephiroth.
"The same stars that were there that night…you made your promise to me…are here right now. The exact same ones." Tifa laughed softly. "I remember everything that happened that night; I could never forget, for some reason. I wonder…was your promise…that important to me?"
Cloud remained silent, recalling everything that happened that night, and especially the young Tifa his childhood had revolved around. Despite her young age, Tifa had already begun showing promising signs of turning into the beauty of today, and even more so then because of the gentle starlight that had illuminated the two of them and gave her a more mature appearance.
Or maybe it was just because that night was the first time I had Tifa all to myself without any of her friends hanging around. Or it might have been…just because…she's Tifa.
"When I'm in trouble, my hero will come to save me, won't he? He always did, he always does, and he probably will forever, right?" Tifa sniffled, making Cloud jerk his head around for as far as it would go. "…Right…?"
There were tears in her eyes, just as distinct as the silver stars implanted in the black sky overhead. She kept staring up at those stars, disregarding the tears that were suddenly falling down her cheeks and losing themselves in the soil beneath their crouched figures.
Cloud reached around and wiped a tear away from Tifa's face with one bandage-wrapped finger, surprising her eyes back to his. "Tifa, I may have been no more than a boy when I made that promise, but I meant it. I'll always be there to protect you, no matter what." He placed a hand on Tifa's arms that were still embracing his neck and pulled her forward so that his mouth met with her ear. "I promise."
Tifa smiled and turned her head, kissing Cloud on the cheek while tears fell unchecked from her eyes. "Thank you…Cloud…"
Thank you so, so much.
* * *
Shar found a kindred spirit inside of Bahamut. Despite being barely considered a teenager within her species, she was as curious as an apt pupil could be and as quick intelligently as a teacher could wish a student. The pair sat near the back of the cave, Bahamut leaning against Shar's warm side with her curled halfway around his body. There was no fire tonight, for its presence would have probably disturbed Cloud and Tifa beyond reasoning, given the circumstances under which their hometown was destroyed. Bahamut instead discreetly lit the dark corners of the grotto with his little dragon-fire lights that were wrapped within a thin, but permeable membrane.
"Do you know Nanaki well, Elder?" Shar asked. At a loss of how to refer to Bahamut respectfully, she instead bestowed him with the position of "Elder"—the title the oldest, wisest, and most knowledgeable people within her specie's tribes were given. After a while, Bahamut had given up trying to stop her from calling him that, although he did claim that it made him feel too old.
"Not I. You might ask Tifa, Cloud, or Yuffie, though; they traveled with him before."
"I think I shall, Elder. Where are we going tomorrow?"
"Hopefully, Tifa and Cloud will be all right by then. We'll be going to Cosmo Canyon to speak to Nanaki and the Elders of his tribe."
"He has a tribe? I thought he was the last one."
"He is the last one of his kind within his tribe, yes. However, he created a tribe with the humans that he protects there. The Elders are human, but dedicate themselves to studying the Planet just as much as your kind's Elders did."
"Do you think they will know what to do?"
"Perhaps. It might give me more ideas if I get a fresher view on what's happening. The instruments that they use aren't necessarily modern, but they are sensitive enough to be able to pick up the tremors of the Planet's cries, even if they are being blocked by Jenova."
"We should all probably be getting some sleep now. But…where's Cloud and Tifa?" Shar glanced around the grotto. Aeris and Yuffie both had fallen asleep already, curled into corners with Vincent nodding off nearby both of them while Dusk, who had decided to stay in the cave, slept with her head on his shoulder. Cid was quietly smoking nearby the waterfall where the pungent cigarette smell would be washed away by the water and carried out into the open. The rest of the crew of the Highwind had opted to stay aboard the airship in order to guard it and also just because there was not enough room within the grotto to house all of them comfortably. Of Tifa and Cloud, however, there was no sign.
Cid noticed Bahamut and Shar looking around and jerked his head towards the outside that was hidden by the waterfall. "I don't know what they're doing out there, but I'm not sure if I want to know."
Bahamut nodded slowly. "I see. Well, it would probably be best not to disturb them. Get some sleep, Cid; no one will walk in on us without my knowledge. I will stay awake while the rest of you rest."
"Okay, then." Cid ground the butt of his cigarette into the ground and considerately placed it in his pocket rather than litter the floor of the grotto with his cigarettes. He paced towards his chosen corner and sat down, yawning and stretching. "G'night."
Shar watched as Cid turned over and fell almost instantly asleep. "How does he do that?"
"Do what?" Bahamut asked.
"Fall asleep so quickly."
"He's getting up there in human years, Shar. Although I'm not sure how long he'll last, what with the rate at which he keeps smoking those things."
"Somebody should really tell him to stop."
"I know that Tifa has, repeatedly. It's a habit for him, and it's hard to break. I don't really know how bad it is since I've personally never tried those things before, but I really don't think I would recommend trying it."
Shar snorted. "Those coughs of his are enough to keep me from wanting to. Do you need to sleep, Elder?"
Bahamut smiled. "No. But you do, I think."
"I can stay up with you."
"I don't think so, child." Bahamut reached over and placed a hand over Shar's eyes, forcing them closed and exerting a small amount of magical energy on her. "Sleep, Shar. You'll need it."
When he removed his hand, Shar was deep in the sleep he had placed upon her. Bahamut smiled once more and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling Shar's sides rise and fall beneath his back.
For once, everything was at peace and perfectly still.
But I wonder how long it's going to last…
