Disclaimer: I own not the characters but only the story in which they appear in here. The idea is mine but everything else belongs to their respective owners. (Although I wish otherwise.)


Chapter 4

Tifa sat down on her bed and watched Yuffie bounce around the room unpacking. Vincent leaned against the shut door and said nothing indicating that Tifa would be the one to talk and he would only fill in where she could not.

/Oh God and if that isn't bad enough Barret's arriving in the morning and he still doesn't know.../

"Oh _SHIT_!!!"

Yuffie stopped in mid-bounce to stare at the horrified Tifa. "Yo whassup Tif? You look like you just saw your own death or something."

"Damn, Damn, DAMN! I forgot. I completely forgot!"

Vincent raised his eyebrow. He certainly hoped this was not some elaborate idea of Tifa's in lieu of telling Yuffie about Cloud and Sephiroth. But then, she had never been a very good actress anyway. Her emotions were to obvious.

"Hey Tifa you're scaring me girl. What's up?"

"He's coming tomorrow.... I forgot. He's coming tomorrow and...and... Barret doesn't know... Oh My God..."

Yuffie's eyes went as wide as they could go. She knew exactly who Tifa was talking about. "Aw man, _He_ is coming? Barret's gonna hit the roof!"

Vincent chose this moment to break into the conversation. "Pardon, but exactly who is this _he_ you are talking about?"

"Tifa's new guy! Reno!"

/Reno?! Tifa's new boyfriend was Reno?!/

"I did not know..."

"No surprise. You missed their getting together and then it just kinda blew over ya know? Guess we kinda took it in stride... Barret still hates his guts though. We always try to make sure they don't meet. Luckily, with Reno and the Turks working with Reeve to rebuild Midgar its easy."

"Then why the trouble now?"

"I don't get to see him often. Any long vacation time he has, he'll come here to spend with me. He told me ages ago and then with the get together for Jessi's birthday I just got so busy and I never bothered to check the dates..."

"Yeah and Reeve's headed here too for the birthday bash so that probably means their going to arrive at the same time and Barret ain't been sweet on him since he took over Shinra."

Now he could see it. /Well, it will be an interesting reunion that's for sure. The Turks, Avalanche, Shinra and SOLDIERS all under one roof.../ Living in a coffin for years on end twisted your humour after awhile. But there was another problem. Two actually, in a room right down the hallway which Tifa seemed to have forgotten about momentarily.

"We have another problem..." That was all the prompting he was going to give. Tifa was going to have to explain it.

"Huh? What other problems could there be?" Tifa froze and glared at Vincent who stared back coolly.

/I agreed to be support, not replacement. Deal with it./

"Uhh...It's Cloud. He's come back and brought his lover with him...Their the ones down the hall.."

"Cloud?! That's great! He's got a lover?"

"Yuffie sit down. This is gonna be hard to explain as it is..." Tifa rubbed her temples tiredly and waited for the ninja to subside.

"Cloud's lover is...a man. That's first and foremost. But that's not the problem. His lover is...is..."

"Is....? Come on Tif, don't keep me in suspense!"

"Sephiroth."

"...... You're joking. Please tell me you're joking..."

"....."

"Vincent? Is it true?"

"Yes. They've been lovers a long time."

"How long? I mean come _ON_. Cloud _killed_ him for crying out loud! How does that equate to love?!"

"They've been lover's since his entrance into the army."

"I don't believe it!!!! He wouldn't betray us like this!!!"

Now Vincent began to get annoyed. "Exactly how has he betrayed you? He loved Sephiroth before the war yet joined you and helped kill him when he went mad. Now, after everything is settled, he has been returned his lover by the Planet after fulfilling an obligation which /did not exist/ to /any/ of you, you call him a traitor? You say he betrayed you? How?"

Usually the ex-Turk would never have spoken so much but the obvious pain and guilt when Cloud had told him his story was still sharp in his mind. While he had been angry, he had been able to realize that Cloud had never betrayed them. After all, he had killed his lover for them and their safety. And not just once either.

/What does that do to a person? Mentally and emotionally?/

There was still silence from Yuffie as she tried to find a reply. Vincent waited and Tifa wrung her hands. Finally, Yuffie gave in. She knew Vincent was right but...

/Why Sephiroth?/

That's unfair, her own mind told her. They had become a couple _before_ JENOVA and the whole mess that followed.

"I...I... you're right Vincent. That was unfair of me... But, it's just so sudden...And I never thought...It's just...strange..."

"Be that as it may, I hope a better reaction is forthcoming tomorrow when we inform Barret of this."

Yuffie fell off her seat. "Oh no! We're all gonna die!"

Tifa was agreeing silently with Yuffie. there was no way Barret was going to take this lying down.

"We cannot change that. Right now I suggest we sleep."

^^^^^

Cid waited, grinding his teeth as he waited for his wife to say something. /Anything/

"...I see..."

Blink What the hell? "That's it? No screaming curses? No bloody rolling pin?"

Shera shot him a placid glance. "No, it would disturb Jessi. But more importantly, Cloud deserves his happiness. No matter who he's with. If the Planet saw fit to give him Sephiroth as a lover I will not gainsay them. It is long past due that he found some peace. Besides, the war is over. Who and what did he betray?"

Cid worked his jaw but no sound was forthcoming.

/Damn fine woman I married!/ And he didn't fight the proud feeling in his chest. Finally he smiled at his wife who smiled back, happy to see that her husband had reached the same conclusion she had.

"Well, now that that's over... Let's have some fun..."

^^^^^

Cloud stirred and moved his head a bit drowsily. For some reason, something was disturbing his sleep but it wasn't threatening. Blearily, he opened his eyes to be met with a soft kiss from Sephiroth.

"Shh, go back to sleep. I accidentally pulled on your hair, that's all."

Murmuring inaudibly, Cloud sank back into the recesses of slumber.

Sephiroth waited to make sure he was completely asleep before resuming his task.

/Oh Cloud... I can't wait for the morning.../

Sephiroth nearly choked himself to death trying to contain his giggles.