Shades of Gray
Part Three: Still in the Shadows
195 minutes after the coincidental meeting with Reno the Turk
As if the throngs of folks shopping for Christmas gifts weren't annoying enough, even the trains were packed with seemingly endless rows of people. The seats were all taken, and almost every inch of the floor was occupied by men and women who had no choice but to stand, lest wait in a never-ending line for another train ride. Everyone was a bit edgy, after all, most of them had endured a harrowing day at work, worrying about their Christmas bonuses... Lucky was this train for it had nothing to fret about but to follow its track and get its passengers to their destinations.
Tifa got a seat, though she wouldn't really call herself lucky. A stout man that would have given Barret a run for his money in being Santa Claus was settled to her right while a businessman on her other side was too busy reading the newspaper to notice that while he was sitting comfortably, he was crowding her. Well, at least she wasn't standing, right?
To get her mind off of her discomfort and her apparent boredom, she started observing those on board with her. A smile was shared between her and the embarrassed mother seated across who couldn't get her twins to stop running around and pushing against people. A couple to the far side of the corner can't seem to keep their hands off of each other even for a second and Tifa had to avert her eyes, afraid to intrude. And there beside the two was this fellow in a business suit, whom she noticed kept staring at her. She made it a point to ignore him. Moments passed without anything really happening.
"Tifa?" she looked up to see the same guy who had been watching her standing in front of her. His voice sounded oddly familiar, but his face... There was nothing familiar in its features and she could not recall ever seeing this man with the neatly trimmed goatee and the clever-looking dark eyes. She intently looked at him, pressing her memory to remember this person. "It's me, Reeve."
Her burgundy eyes widened, and for a while, she was too shocked to speak. "Oh my god, Reeve!" she screeched, her greeting loud enough to attract the other passengers' attention. She fumbled over for words, but only managed to stand up and give him a hug. To anyone else, it would be a bit weird to be sharing a hug with a person she never really met before, nevertheless someone she considered a friend. But for Tifa, it was just normal.
He grinned at her widely, positively happy to see her reaction. "I just couldn't stay away from my friends," He returned the embrace and pulled away shortly after. He gave her a once over, probably seeing this wiser, fully-grown up woman instead of the girl he had met then. "And how are you, Tifa?"
Her gaze dropped to the floor and she turned red. How was she? Of course, he'd be thinking she's okay, that she had resolved things with Cloud, and that she had nothing to trouble her perfect life. Knowing that, she can't just tell him how muddled her life and mind were. But she lifted her head and smiled for her friend, after all, he did come all this way just to see them. "A lot has happened, but I'm still the same. How are you, Reeve? I thought your boss wouldn't let you off the hook...?"
Her friend seemed surprised she would ask him that. He scratched his head and gave her a bashful look. "Um, he wouldn't. So I resigned." She couldn't believe it. From the stories she heard from Barret and Cid, Reeve struck her as a business-minded fellow and nothing would make him leave that job. But then again, life had a lot of surprise for everyone, and this was clearly one of them. "A friend already knows about it, and he offered to help me look for a temporary job."
"Oh, I suppose that's good... What are your other plans? I mean, if you don't have any place to stay in while you're in Kalm, we still have spare rooms at the tavern." It had been a while and Tifa knew that her friends would wish for nothing more than to be able to catch up with each other's lives especially now that they have the time to do so. "And all of us could spend the Christmas together."
Reeve smiled. "That was my plan." Right, why hadn't she thought of that sooner? "Hey, I heard you and Elena hit it off. She's been telling me a lot about you and Yuffie, that mall job, Rude, Reno... She has a lot of stories to tell."
"Yeah, she can be really talkative at times." She agreed with him, and Reeve chuckled softly.
"Well, that's Elena for us." He shrugged. "So, what have you been up to?"
"Nothing much. I closed the bar for the time being but I mostly hang out with our friends if I'm not out working or Christmas shopping..." which reminded her, she still hadn't gotten a present for Reeve. Wow, all of them would be really here for Christmas... "Hey Reeve, I'm more than glad to see you here and I'm sure the others would be too. Christmas won't be quite complete if one of us won't be present."
And yet, even if all of them showed up, a very important someone would still be missing and no one could ever fill in that place. Tifa didn't have to utter Aeris' name for Reeve to realize she was talking about the Cetra. He, too, knew how this get-together would momentarily let Cloud forget about that pain or how much each one's presence would make him feel better. "How is he managing?"
"Hmm, he's... Cloud's Cloud." She gave up trying to explain their friend's condition. "I really can't tell you how he is, I guess you'd have to see for yourself then when we get there. To put it mildly, he's still taking it hard..."
Reeve shook his head. "He's still in the shadows, huh? It's not his fault. Everyone she met loved her... She had a lot in line for her, she shouldn't have died, but I'm not saying someone else should have."
"I know what you mean. She was an angel... Cloud's angel." She gave him a small smile, and a flood of bittersweet memories tugged at her heart. Those past moments hurt more than she thought they would. "Besides, it's true. They do belong to each other."
He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again as if changing his mind. "Hey, Tifa... I- I'm sorry."
"Huh? For what?" Was this apology for an offence she had long forgotten or something she had never really minded? "Reeve, if it's for being late, it's really okay. What matters is that you're here now."
She met his eyes and she can't help notice how they show the very feeling of guilt that had troubled her only a few months back. "You know I've said a lot of stupid things, the fortune telling-"
"All of us had said and done a number of foolish things in the past." Her eyes settled on the floor as if they were too shameful to meet his. "I'm one to talk. I lied, kept things from you all and almost made someone lose his mind, in case you forgot."
Reeve didn't say anything, but she knew he was aware of what she was talking about.
Tifa met his gaze once again and found a kindred light in his eyes. She allowed a small smile to touch her lips. "It's alright, Reeve. I never minded it" much "so let's start putting things where they belong. Past is past, it's time for us to move on."
The two friends remained quiet after that, both of them truly satisfied with each other's understanding and company. The silence between them wasn't awkward; no word was needed to assure them of the other's request to be understood and forgiven...
Author's Notes: Reeve always struck me as an interesting character, and it really is such a shame that very few fanfics (back when I first wrote this) shed any light on him. Did you like how I portrayed Reeve? ) Anyway, thank you again for reading! Reviews, comments, suggestions and critiques are greatly appreciated.