AUTHORS NOTE: Woot! Thanks for the reviews! Just to let you people know (and in reply to Demonstars post), it's worth keeping in mind that originally i did this story in a completely different program and font, as i couldn't upload it in those specific formats i had to stick with Notepad and yeh - you know how crap notepad makes things come out! So hey, if i ever get to know any of you guys personally - you'll see what i mean. CrashBandicoot - I wasn't quite sure what you ment by your review.. sorry :S anyways.. enjoy this chappy! dun forget - R & R please!!!

Angel Reborn
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CHAPTER FIVE

CLOUD
in
"Alcoholic Sorrows"

~Costa Del Sol - the beach~
•°•
Tifa and Yuffie sat on the warm steps that led down to Costa Del Sol beach, sipping on frosty zeno smoothies and enjoying the warm sunshine that shone down upon them as they chatted back and forth between themselves.

'I remember this one customer,' Tifa was saying, as she reminiced about her barkeeping days with a faint smile playing on her lips, 'He'd come in every day, claim a chair by the bar and order one of our famous Gysal Grinders. He told me that he loved the place so much that he'd get married here some day.' Tifa giggled, 'Of course, we all laughed, thinking it was a joke.. until afew months later when he walked in with his fiance..' Yuffie's eyes widened as Tifa said those words.

'You mean that he actually made his fiance marry him in a bar?!' Tifa nodded and laughed.

'Yep, right there and than! I felt pretty sorry for the woman.. but I wasn't about to stop it all, it was the most exciting thing to happen in the place for.. well, for a LONG time! It sort of made you forget we were even in a bar.. if you looked past the death stares the woman was giving her man!' Yuffie sniggered and dropped her empty cup into the sand beside the step. For a moment both girls were silent, Tifa with her chin resting on her knees was playing the wedding all out in her mind again. 'Maybe some day that will be me,' she hoped silently, 'If Cloud ever asks me.. .'

Yuffie was leaning back against the warm concrete of the step behind her, knotting her hands around her shins and staring up at the perfect blue sky. 'Would anyone even WANNA marry me?!' She sighed and shook her head quickly, 'Who cares? I'm sixteen! I'v got YEARS to worry about that when I'm older.. like.. when I'm Tifas age!' Yuffie grinned to herself and turned back to the raven haired girl beside her.

'Do you miss it?'

'Being a barkeeper? No.. well, not really. I'll always have my memories of it - but I'm alot happier here, where I am now!' She guestured to the beach around her with a wide grin.

'And Midgar?' Tifa thought about it for a moment.

'Well, it may have been dark and gloomy and packed with monsters.. but it was home to me for a long time. It's where I did so much of my training in my spare time, where I knew everyone and everyone knew me. Sure I have my fond memories about it..' She trailed off, remembering something. 'Say.. do you still have your card from the 'Love-Tester' ?' Yuffie colored slightly and handed it to Tifa.

'That Love-Tester was a waste of one hundred gil!'

'You won't be saying that when we find your true love!' Tifas eye's glinted with a smile and she eagerly pulled Yuffie to her feet. 'Come on! It's worth a try!'

'Oh gawd!'

'Now lets see..' Tifa pondered as she stopped by the sign in the center of Costa Del Sol 'The first line says 'A man who hangs by the bar', so lets get to the Bar Del Sol!'

'It could mean a monkey you know..' Yuffie muttered as she was dragged towards the double doors, 'Actually, I'd probably PREFER if it was a monkey.. considering how the card makes my 'ideal match' sound! At least a monkey could perform cool tricks..' she thought with a sigh.

'Gosh! I didn't think that the bar would be so full!' Tifa exclaimed in suprise, 'But that won't deter us!'

'Oh look! There's Cloud.. lets go say 'hi' to him first, okay?!' Yuffie insited, almost pleading.. for the distraction.

'Okay than!!' Tifas eyes lit up and she hurried over quickly. Cloud raised his head slightly from it's usual place, flat against the surface of the table, as his friends approached.

'Hi Cloud, whatcha doin'?' Tifa asked coyly, smiling her sweetest smile.

'Passing out..' Cloud mumbled, laying his head back against the smooth worn wood and closing his eyes.

'Great! Than you can help us search for Yuffies ideal man!' Tifa continued, ignoring his comment and waving the small card around extravagantly infront of her.

'Um.. Tifa.. he looks kind of.. unfit for the job.. 'smashed'.. if you will.' Yuffie pointed out, worried about the blonde mercinary as she scanned the table cluttered with empty beer mugs.

'Pfft! Come on Cloud!' Tifa yanked him to his feet and led him to the bar, determined to have Cloud with them, if only to be closer to him. 'There's alot of men 'hanging by the bar'.. some even literally.. so lets move onto the next clue!' Tifa let go of Cloud for a moment to clasp the card in both hands, studying it carefully and failing to notice as her childhood friend toppled over, falling heavily against Yuffie.

'Oh gawd! Cloud, get up! You're gunna crush me..!' He groaned and opened his bloodshot eyes to focus on the struggling girl trying to hold him up, shifting his weight and staggering over to slump against a newly vacated bar stool.

'Gimmeabeer..' Cloud slurred, tossing two hundred gil onto the counter and watching as Tifa quickly snatched them up.

'Cloud, you've had enough beer!' She handed the barkeeper twenty gil and ordered two glasses of water, pushing one against Clouds chest when they arrived. 'Here, drink this - you'll start to feel better.'

Yuffie watched as he took a sip and grimaced at the flavourless beverage. Poor Cloud.. .

'Okay, the next clue is 'eating pickled olives from a jar'.'

'Good luck..' Cloud smirked, pointing to a sign above the counter shakily.

FREE!
Jar of the most delectible
home-grown, home-made,
Pickled Olives this side
of the equator!
..with every purchase!

Tifa groaned in dismay as she turned to stare at the multitude of male customers as they squeezed their grubby hands into the small jars and greedily stuffed the tasty morsels into their gaping maws, juice dribbling down their chins and arms and pooling on the counter where they sat. Even the bartender was snacking on them between serving customers! Yuffie shuddered and backed away slowly. 'Can we please just go?! I'm starting to feel abit sick!'

'Me too. This clear, flavourless liquid is slowly killing me.' Cloud joked, rather seriously, as he stared at the glass in his hand with reluctance.

After having yielded no results from the first two clues on Yuffies Love-Tester card, Tifa decided to wait a while before trying again. 'We'll come back another day,' she told her friends, taking them by the arms and leading them out through the double-doors and into the bustling streets of the small resort town. 'Meanwhile, I'v been thinking..'

'That can't be a good thing..' Cloud mumbled as another half-hearted joke. Tifa punched him in the arm playfully and shook her head in mock annoyance.

'Anyway, what I was thinking was..'

'That you're going to let me get back to my cosy seat by the half-full beer glass you tore me away from?' Tifa sighed at Clouds comment.

'Cloud, please, you spend way too much time there! Which is why the idea I'v been thinking about is beneficial to you aswell!' She pointed out.

'So tell us already!!' Yuffie demanded, growing impatient.

'A vacation!' Tifa announced with a smile.

'A vacation?' Yuffie echoed, finally grinning at the idea.

'You seem to be forgetting where we are,' Cloud commented, guesturing around him. 'Every day is a vacation in Costa Del Sol.' Lame joke, with little emphisis when you were tottering on the edge of conciousness.

'Did you have someplace in mind?' Yuffie asked Tifa curiously, ignoring Cloud.

'Well, the talk we had before on the beach.. it got me thinking.. you know, about Midgar. None of us have been back there since that whole Sephiroth thing - I guess I'm kind of curious..' Cloud stared at her blankly.

'Tifa, you seem to be forgetting that Midgar is no more than a pile of rubble these days.'

'I'm aware of that!' Tifa replied sarcastically, glaring at Cloud for a moment. 'Man, this guy sure can be a pain after he's been guzzling alcohol! A real wet-blanket. Why can't he be a little more supportive for a change?' Tifa sighed loudly.

'Well I think it's a great idea!' Yuffie replied enthusiastically, 'maybe we'll even find some old unused materia while we're there!' her eyes shone with the idea. 'I'll go and find Cid and tell him our plans!' Tifa nodded and smiled, watching Yuffie skip off towards the marina where Cid would probebly be working on the boat he'd bought cheaply some days earlier.

'Count me out.' Cloud stated after a while.

'What?' Tifa studied his face, trying to decifer his motives for the statement.

'That place holds too many memories,' Cloud stated quietly, turning his head away from his friends prying eyes as a tear slid down his cheek solemnly. 'I can never go back there.'

His mind was suddenly suffused with memories of the very first day he'd met Aerith.

'That cosy church nestled in a quiet corner of the Sector 7 slums and the beautiful face that stared down at him from above. For a moment he'd thought he was in heaven, staring at one of Gods angels - light from a window high in the domed roof was shining down apon the figure leaning over him, pooling around her silhouette and making the slender form glow with a holy light. After he'd finally managed to come to his senses and stumble to his feet, she asked if he was ok - casting a worried glance over his body quickly - to which he explained that he felt no pain at all from the fall, oddly enough. She'd giggled with relief and pointed out that it must have been because of the flowers that broke his fall were holy flowers and that he was in a church in the Sector 7 slums.
Cloud remembered the sound of her laugh to be one of the most enchantingly beautiful things he'd ever heard - it was so completely genuine, showed exactly what she was feeling, and made her face light up in a way that made her look even more angelic.. if that was even possible!
Back in those days he'd been so mixed up with thoughts and plans all jostling one another for a place at the front of his mind that he hadn't taken the chance to work on the feeling that had developed in his heart.. that little fuzzy warm one that made him feel strangely content whenever it was provoked.
It seemed that by the time things finally got underway between Aerith and himself.. it was already too late.. she'd left him so quickly, without ever knowing his true feelings.. how much he cared for her.. needed her.. and loved her.
It hurt so much remembering.'

'You have to face your fears Cloud, you have to!! You're coming with us to Midgar, even if it means me having to drag you there kicking and screaming.' Tifa stated firmly as Cloud returned to reality, quickly leaving before he could respond in any way whatsoever.
•°•
©Erica Runge - 28th of November, 2002. All main characters, etc ©Squaresoft and FFVII.