By Crimson
*****
CHAPTER 2: Rememberance
Tifa smiled gratefully at Barret. He strode over.
"So the shit's left the building then."
"At least it got out before it could hit the fan."
The barmaid walked steadily over to the bar and mixed herself a drink.
"I wasn't prepared for that," she admitted. "And apparently, we're meeting up again."
Barret couldn't contain his surprise.
"#@*!%!" he exclaimed. "Tifa! You sure? You can't...!"
"I can handle it, Barret," she sighed. "I need to start looking out for myself again. I miss that." She stared into her glass, watching the olive she'd added swirl pointlessly round and round. "I need to get over Cloud, to confront my past. I'm beginning to think that this is the only way."
Barret looked dubious, but accepted Tifa's answer. He'd spent too long protecting her already. This wasn't the Tifa he used to know... but it looked like she might transform herself back into the bubbly, optimistic girl she'd once been.
"DAD?!?!" came a cry from down the stairs. Marlene.
Barret took another look at Tifa. In another couple of years... Marlene would be a teenager, telling Barret to leave her alone, just like Tifa. He didn't like to think of himself as vulnerable, but when it came to girls, he was at a loose end. He wished Myrna was still around.
"Coming, Marlene!" he called back. "You okay up here, Tif?"
"I'll live."
She seemed distant, probably remembering Cloud. Remembering all the times Tifa had cried on his shoulder, Barret realised that if he ever met Cloud again, he'd hate him more than he liked him, hate him for just leaving Tifa, for leaving her in such a state. He took a last, sympathising look at the barmaid before heading downstairs. He didn't have many years left when he could coddle Marlene, and he was determined to make the most of them.
Watching Barret leave, Tifa muttered to herself.
"Cloud. Reno. Elena."
She repeated it, over and over. It wasn't doing her any good, but she knew she had to come to terms with their existance. Not much had really changed since their year or so together, not like she'd hoped it would. She'd heard rumors, rumors of all her friends, their current locations, how they were getting on. Apparently, Cid had been fixing up the rocket he'd loved, so he could fly it again soon. And Yuffie, well, she was still out thieving materia for Wutai. Vincent even dropped in to see her now and again, whenever he was in Midgar. But she'd never heard anything about Cloud since he left to mourn for Aeris. Part of her hoped he was still alive somewhere, thinking of her. But part of her hoped he was out of her life forever.
*****
"Never leave me, Reno. Always be here for me, like we promised, all those years ago..."
"Tifa, I'll never leave you..."
Dreams, just dreams. But no matter how hard he thought like that, memories of them kept invading Reno's head. Elena had been glad that the three of them had met up, Reno had been glad by the end that it was all over, so he could concentrate on never seeing Tifa again, never again remembering the shards of dreams that hit him like bullets at midnight. But Elena hadn't been thinking like that. The truth was, they both wanted something different from life, but Elena was happy to control Reno until the point when he could take no more. So, they were meeting up again. More time between the visits for Reno's nightmares. That was what he called them when he woke up, but what scared him the most was that during the dream, he was enjoying it. Reno had never felt that way about anyone. No, no, he didn't like her. Not like that. But he'd been telling himself that so many times recently, it'd lost all meaning.
"Reeeno!" came a voice, shattering his dreams.
"Yo," he grunted. Elena came bouncing in.
"We're meeting Tifa again today. Have a shower, get yourself dressed, you look like you slept in dog shit."
"I love you too." But his voice lacked the humor the statement deserved. Elena looked disapprovingly at him.
"Meet me in the lobby in half an hour," she commanded him. "And have a shave." The door slammed behind her.
"Far as I'm concerned, Rude can have her back," he muttered to himself. "What?"
Did he really just say that?!? Angrily, he kicked the wall.
Dreams, dreams, dreams...
So, you like? Huh? Huh? I still have no idea where this fic's going, but I got bored and stuck this chapter on amyway. So... is it working? Please tell me... ˆ•ˆ
