Author's Note: Alright, I promise, this is the last chapter of this story. I don't want it to end either but we all know that all stories need to come to a close. And likewise, this is one of them. I'm actually very proud of myself for ending something. I didn't want this one to go on forever like Victim but I also don't want it to end. Now I have a new story that will begin soon, so don't worry, you won't be stuck only with Victim. But you know, you COULD always read Of You and The Survivor and review them, but that's just my personal opinion. And now, the finale, of Barfly. P.S. please note, yada yada, songs are NOT written by me, blah, blah, blah. By the way, sorry that I kept saying unless otherwise noted, I thought that I would use some of the songs I wrote a couple years ago, but they would not be appropriate for Tifa so...that's why there was no otherwise noted. Just to clear that up.
Cloud was seated in his desk chair again, trying to concentrate on his work. He had made leaps and bounds at settling himself into the business of owning a college. He had gotten into the flow of things, even if it had taken him twenty-one months to do so. It had been three months since his last encounter with Tifa and he was trying his hardest to get over her.
He knew that he was being pathetic, that he was only torturing himself by thinking of her, but still...he couldn't get her off his mind. Both times that she had rejected him there had been something else on the tip of her tongue...he could tell, she just wouldn't tell him.
All he ever did anymore was work. He was losing himself in a way he had never wanted to. He knew that that was the road his father had taken when he had inherited the college and that he himself would slowly die from it. The college was like a curse, it ruined lives, it killed the Strife's. It was like some great source of power that would destroy whoever owned it.
Cloud didn't want that burden anymore. He had prepared to make his amends. He had wanted to tell Tifa long ago that he would give up everything for her but he never could. He supposed that maybe; one last try would do him good. It was now or never, he thought, he would try one last time to get her to forgive him and this was it.
He knew why she hadn't forgiven him. She was following her mind and not her heart. He could see it in her eyes that she wanted to be with him, it wasn't just him being conceited and knowing that he could have any woman he wanted, he truly saw it in her expression. He could see her optimism start to slowly fade in the spotlight with each passing day, with each passing photo shoot or concert.
God if he hadn't been so stupid, so heartless, neither of them would be dying right now. He knew she was too, by the increasing amount of makeup around her eyes he knew...that she was hiding her dark circles. She still hadn't moved on with her life, it was just too hard for her.
He hadn't moved on either. He hadn't even tried to. He had lost all meaning in his life, all purpose. He was right back where he started from before he met her, and he didn't want to be there again. He closed his eyes and sighed. If this last chance at convincing her that he was the man for her didn't work, he was prepared to die. His life was going nowhere and he just couldn't take it anymore.
He knew what he had to do. He had been planning it for a few weeks now. He was going to sell the college. He would have given it up for her in a heartbeat if she had asked; it seemed to be the bridge between them, a bridge with a rock-solid roadblock in the middle of it. But she had never asked. He thought that maybe, if he showed her that he would give up the very thing that had driven them apart, she would believe him.
He had tossed her aside like the other women in his life just so that he could inherit the college, something he didn't even want in the first place. He looked up as the lawyers entered the room, prepared to do business. He didn't want a lengthy conversation; he wanted to be rid of his burden once and for all. He had never wanted it in the first place, so why had he kept it for so long?
"Are you sure that you want to go through with this, Mr. Strife?" One of the lawyers asked, sliding the contract over to Cloud.
"Oh I'm sure." Cloud responded, skimming through the article and signing.
He had never been more sure of himself in his life. Leaving the college would be the best thing for him. Even if Tifa declined him once again, he would be able to start a life that he had always wanted, a simple life, a common life. He would buy an apartment or a small house somewhere and live out his days peacefully.
He took what remained of his inheritance and the money made from selling the college and put it all in a bank so that he would never have to work again in his life. He wanted to live in a small town, where he would probably be known but not a lot of people would be around to bother him. He would be able to move on with his life, maybe even meet someone and start a family.
And so, for the last time, he packed his bags and headed for the train station, he was free. He took a seat by the window but did not bother to watch his old life disappear right before his eyes. He didn't want to look back; he didn't want to remember his regrets. He was heading for Junon, Tifa was going to be performing at her bar in a few days, and he would ask her there.
It would be just like their first night together. It would be like starting over with her. He wanted to meet her again for the first time, so to speak. He needed to reestablish himself as he had done so that first night in her bar. For hours he imagined how the meeting would go and he imagined his success. When the train conductor called out the Junon stop, he could feel the butterflies in his stomach.
He knew that everything he had planned to say would come out jumbled, as prepared speeches usually did for someone who was nervous. He just hoped that he would be able to say what he wanted to say and get his point across. He would understand if she still didn't forgive him, but he wouldn't be able to accept that, no, he would not accept a life without her.
There was a line outside of her bar that had already formed for the evening performance. Cloud could see that inside the building was already packed; he just hoped that he could get in. He walked up to the bouncer, a large black man, perfect for the job, and pulled out one hundred gil.
"Mr. Strife? It's great to finally meet you. You gonna break her heart again?" The man asked, folding his arms and peering down at Cloud's permissive frame through glaring white eyes.
"No I came...to talk to her..." Cloud said, noticing the restlessness of the crowd behind him.
"Really? You and about five hundred others!" The man snarled, motioning to the line that stretched down the street and around the corner.
"Please, sir," Cloud had never called anyone but his father 'sir' in his entire life. It felt degrading but it was one small step towards normalcy. "I know she misses me and...I miss her too, ya gotta let me in!" Cloud pleaded, holding up another hundred gil.
The large man sucked back his tongue and rolled his eyes, silently cursing himself for allowing the man in to hurt his star once again. He closed his eyes and frowned, shaking his head back and forth and pulling aside the velvet rope that blocked Cloud's entrance. He waved the young blonde in and latched the rope behind him, holding up his hand to stop the next person in line.
"Thank you, very much!" Cloud exclaimed, shaking the security guard's hand, then rushing into the building.
He saw that all the barstools were already taken and he frowned. He needed to sit there if his plan would work. He walked up to a man who was trying to peer over the crowd to get a good look at the stage and pulled out yet another hundred gil. He didn't care how much it cost him to get a chance to see Tifa, and three hundred gil was nothing to him anyway. The man smiled widely and snatched the money from Cloud, hurrying away to find a different spot. Cloud kneeled on the stage, just as he had done the first night he laid eyes on Tifa, trying to look over the heads in front of him. He could hear the loud cheers and applause as the lights dimmed and a drumbeat started.
Tifa sat in her dressing room, her legs crossed, just gazing at the wall. Her head was propped up on her fist as she leaned over, thinking of her performance. She closed her eyes and sighed, knowing that this would be her last performance at this bar. She had lost herself in her career, something she had feared doing. She was on the road so much that she had no more time for the bar that was once her dream. She would sell it and trade it in for a roaming home, something that could move with her as she traveled.
She hated to do it, but she had to. If she were to continue on the path that she had selected, it would be necessary. She didn't want to lose her home but she knew that it would only hold her back and that her performances there would grow few and far between.
She stood up and shook her wrists to calm her nerves and loosen up her joints. She ran a quick voice exercise and drank half a bottle of water. She closed her eyes as she heard her name be announced. She slowly took a step out onto stage, trying not to look at the eager faces that were awaiting her brilliant voice. She didn't want to let them down and she knew that if she looked at them she would cry. She took the microphone off of its stand and moved the pole out of her way. She choked back her emotions and began to speak, agonizing as it was.
She was wearing a purple tank top with straps that stuck close to her neck with a thick red scarf around her neck. There was a large whole in the middle of the shirt that barely covered her breasts. She wore purple gloves that stretched up to her upper arm with a zigzag flap that hung over the hem. She had on a yellow half skirt with a thick waistline that reached just below her left knee and had thick blue stripes across it and was jagged at the edge. Her yellow thong sides stretched over her hips and she wore hot pink thigh-high tights with black garters to hold them up at that jagged white edges. She wore loose blue boots with yellow stripes and her hair hung loose all around her, with thin pieces braided and hanging down with the rest of it. (A/N: Rikku's 'Gun Mage' dress sphere).
"This song...is about...leaving something you love. This will be...my last concert in this bar. I can no longer keep coming back here, leaving my career." She bowed her head as a salty drop escaped her eye. "I'm sorry." She stood up and shifted her weight onto one leg, bending her other at the knee and bowing her head to the side in sorrow.
Made to think of the joys and sorrows
I relax in the sweet sound
Words, with their power, bring me to my senses
There is only one thing to transmit
Yes, on this cold cheek
I can feel the touch of the palm of your hand
By this fleeting warmth
Our separation can be filled by heartbeats
This time will dry up the rift
Because I can meet you when I close my eyes
That afternoon walking with you
Without reason, an unexpected thought
That before long, these days will probably end
More than the voice of a premonition, I hear
The exchange of smiles; I believe that
The palm of your hand can make it happen again
By this modest warmth
Our wounds will be sealed by life
To make it come true, if your love burns
Begin from this moment
Perhaps nothing in this reflected world
When I want to stop time
Even if the dreams I hope for disappear
Because this time of living without you isn't a dream
Fleeting warmth
Even if our souls are separated far away
Trembling, this moment
holds my feelings, to tomorrow
The palm of your hand that is dear to me
Because I can't forget it, when to you
I arrive after a struggle; we'll meet by chance, surely, even getting over the darkness...
She lowered her head once again as she brought her arm to rest upon her chest, between her breasts. She held her hand in a fist as if to fight the power that was overcoming her and turning her soul dark. She didn't want to leave her home, her bar, her modest dream. Her career had swept her up and ruined her humbleness. A drop rolled down her cheek, illuminated by the white light against the otherwise dark backdrop. She looked out at the audience, the pain of her emotions showing in her eyes.
She turned and left the stage area, painfully aware that she had devastated the audience with her shocker. She could not take it back, though she wished that there were some other way. Her bar had started her career, that was where she had been discovered. She couldn't ignore how much she owed to the building that had given her everything.
She sat down on her makeup counter, her back against the wall and her head resting against the mirror. She bent her knees and stretched her calves out along the table. She looked sadly into the mirror, her eyes wide and shimmering with the film of sorrow. She knew that in a few minutes she would have to face all the tears and anger from her patrons. She had abandoned them, her most loyal of fans, and that was punishable by eternal damnation in her mind.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, thinking of life at the bar. Her happiest performances were given at that bar; it always seemed to bring out the best in her. Now she would be on the road all day, every day. She would be sleeping on fold away beds or cots and using small, impersonal bathrooms. She had accepted her fate, but could she accept letting down those who had supported her throughout her career?
Yuffie knew how hard this was for Tifa. She had grown accustomed to the emotions displayed by each one of her friend's actions. She could read her mentor like a book and she knew that this was not what she wanted. She walked back stage to see Tifa huddled in the corner, crying into her knees. She walked over and placed a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder. Tifa put her hand over the younger girl's to thank her.
"It's all right, Tifa." Yuffie comforted. She leaned against the counter and wrapped her arm around Tifa's shoulders for support. "They understand. They're not mad."
Tifa looked up at her companion in innocent approval. She knew that her patrons would understand her leaving them like that but still...she felt guilty. Now if any of them wanted to watch her sing they would have to pay a lot of gil and that was something she swore she wouldn't force them to do.
"Come on, go tend bar and talk with them." Yuffie added with a wink.
It was time for the younger girl to leave and go home, but she also knew that someone special was waiting for Tifa. Tifa nodded and wiped away her tears, standing up and walking out the door to the bar. Everyone clapped for her one last time as she made her way to the bar to serve them drinks. She kept her eyes to the ground so that they did not see her cry, but she took their orders and made their drinks for them accordingly.
"What'll you have?" She asked a man sitting at the end of the bar, her last customer to be served.
The man looked at her intently, waiting for her to look up at him. He paused for a moment before responding, thinking of just the perfect thing to say to her. He looked down at the counter, his hands trembling and started to speak nervously.
"I'll have...Red Canyon." He said. She had turned to glance at another patron by the time she looked up, and still didn't notice him. She nodded and went to grab him his beer, turning her back on him to grab one from the shelf behind her. "Umm...could you add a little grape juice to that?" Cloud added.
Tifa stood up, her mind racing. No one in the world knew that she kept grape juice behind the bar except... It got her thinking. She arched her back and stared straight forward into the shelf, her heart sinking for a moment and then the butterflies started to flutter in her stomach. Her heart flip-flopped as she slowly turned around, nearly dropping the beer bottle in her anticipation.
It was him. Cloud Strife sat at her bar, ordering a drink. She had secretly wished that he would come find her, that he would prove somehow that he still wanted to be with her. She had dreamed about it for weeks and had even mentioned it to Yuffie, who smiled and giggled at her childish idea. Tifa's eyes widened with delight and her jaw dropped into a smile.
"H...hi." She squeaked out, causing him to laugh a little. She waved with her fingers and set the bottle down on the counter before she let it shatter to the ground.
"Hello there." Cloud said, pretending to be calm and controlled. "You were wonderful tonight." He took the beer and opened it before she mixed it. "Thanks." He said, toasting her with the bottle and bringing it to his lips. He grimaced in discontent and put the bottle down on the counter.
"Don...don't like the taste?" She breathed, realizing his game. He was starting over with her.
"No it's great, it's just that...I'm not much of a beer drinker." He responded, a coy smile spreading across his face. Tifa felt tears of joy form in the corner of her eyes as she smiled back at him.
"Me neither." She said, standing still and gazing at him longingly. The tears began to roll down her cheek for she was telling him that she missed him, and that, 'me neither', was her way of saying her life was nothing without him.
Cloud reached across the bar and wiped away Tifa's tears with his fingers, adding a soft smile and causing her to snicker at his touch. He kept his hand on her cheek, feeling her warm skin against his own as she nestled in his palm. She closed her eyes, thinking about how good it felt to have him touch her. She smiled heavenly, never wanting him to let her go.
Cloud stood up and reached his other arm around her back, pulling her up and across the counter, until their lips met. Tifa was surprised and let out a soft whimper as he pulled her close, her legs bent beneath her against the wood. She allowed herself to feel the pleasure and wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her. She could hear the patrons all around her cheering for them, and she laughed, resting her forehead against his and smiling. He would always be with her.
"Nothing will come between us again." Cloud whispered as their noses touched. He lowered his head to kiss her again, this time a little harder.
Cloud was seated in his desk chair again, trying to concentrate on his work. He had made leaps and bounds at settling himself into the business of owning a college. He had gotten into the flow of things, even if it had taken him twenty-one months to do so. It had been three months since his last encounter with Tifa and he was trying his hardest to get over her.
He knew that he was being pathetic, that he was only torturing himself by thinking of her, but still...he couldn't get her off his mind. Both times that she had rejected him there had been something else on the tip of her tongue...he could tell, she just wouldn't tell him.
All he ever did anymore was work. He was losing himself in a way he had never wanted to. He knew that that was the road his father had taken when he had inherited the college and that he himself would slowly die from it. The college was like a curse, it ruined lives, it killed the Strife's. It was like some great source of power that would destroy whoever owned it.
Cloud didn't want that burden anymore. He had prepared to make his amends. He had wanted to tell Tifa long ago that he would give up everything for her but he never could. He supposed that maybe; one last try would do him good. It was now or never, he thought, he would try one last time to get her to forgive him and this was it.
He knew why she hadn't forgiven him. She was following her mind and not her heart. He could see it in her eyes that she wanted to be with him, it wasn't just him being conceited and knowing that he could have any woman he wanted, he truly saw it in her expression. He could see her optimism start to slowly fade in the spotlight with each passing day, with each passing photo shoot or concert.
God if he hadn't been so stupid, so heartless, neither of them would be dying right now. He knew she was too, by the increasing amount of makeup around her eyes he knew...that she was hiding her dark circles. She still hadn't moved on with her life, it was just too hard for her.
He hadn't moved on either. He hadn't even tried to. He had lost all meaning in his life, all purpose. He was right back where he started from before he met her, and he didn't want to be there again. He closed his eyes and sighed. If this last chance at convincing her that he was the man for her didn't work, he was prepared to die. His life was going nowhere and he just couldn't take it anymore.
He knew what he had to do. He had been planning it for a few weeks now. He was going to sell the college. He would have given it up for her in a heartbeat if she had asked; it seemed to be the bridge between them, a bridge with a rock-solid roadblock in the middle of it. But she had never asked. He thought that maybe, if he showed her that he would give up the very thing that had driven them apart, she would believe him.
He had tossed her aside like the other women in his life just so that he could inherit the college, something he didn't even want in the first place. He looked up as the lawyers entered the room, prepared to do business. He didn't want a lengthy conversation; he wanted to be rid of his burden once and for all. He had never wanted it in the first place, so why had he kept it for so long?
"Are you sure that you want to go through with this, Mr. Strife?" One of the lawyers asked, sliding the contract over to Cloud.
"Oh I'm sure." Cloud responded, skimming through the article and signing.
He had never been more sure of himself in his life. Leaving the college would be the best thing for him. Even if Tifa declined him once again, he would be able to start a life that he had always wanted, a simple life, a common life. He would buy an apartment or a small house somewhere and live out his days peacefully.
He took what remained of his inheritance and the money made from selling the college and put it all in a bank so that he would never have to work again in his life. He wanted to live in a small town, where he would probably be known but not a lot of people would be around to bother him. He would be able to move on with his life, maybe even meet someone and start a family.
And so, for the last time, he packed his bags and headed for the train station, he was free. He took a seat by the window but did not bother to watch his old life disappear right before his eyes. He didn't want to look back; he didn't want to remember his regrets. He was heading for Junon, Tifa was going to be performing at her bar in a few days, and he would ask her there.
It would be just like their first night together. It would be like starting over with her. He wanted to meet her again for the first time, so to speak. He needed to reestablish himself as he had done so that first night in her bar. For hours he imagined how the meeting would go and he imagined his success. When the train conductor called out the Junon stop, he could feel the butterflies in his stomach.
He knew that everything he had planned to say would come out jumbled, as prepared speeches usually did for someone who was nervous. He just hoped that he would be able to say what he wanted to say and get his point across. He would understand if she still didn't forgive him, but he wouldn't be able to accept that, no, he would not accept a life without her.
There was a line outside of her bar that had already formed for the evening performance. Cloud could see that inside the building was already packed; he just hoped that he could get in. He walked up to the bouncer, a large black man, perfect for the job, and pulled out one hundred gil.
"Mr. Strife? It's great to finally meet you. You gonna break her heart again?" The man asked, folding his arms and peering down at Cloud's permissive frame through glaring white eyes.
"No I came...to talk to her..." Cloud said, noticing the restlessness of the crowd behind him.
"Really? You and about five hundred others!" The man snarled, motioning to the line that stretched down the street and around the corner.
"Please, sir," Cloud had never called anyone but his father 'sir' in his entire life. It felt degrading but it was one small step towards normalcy. "I know she misses me and...I miss her too, ya gotta let me in!" Cloud pleaded, holding up another hundred gil.
The large man sucked back his tongue and rolled his eyes, silently cursing himself for allowing the man in to hurt his star once again. He closed his eyes and frowned, shaking his head back and forth and pulling aside the velvet rope that blocked Cloud's entrance. He waved the young blonde in and latched the rope behind him, holding up his hand to stop the next person in line.
"Thank you, very much!" Cloud exclaimed, shaking the security guard's hand, then rushing into the building.
He saw that all the barstools were already taken and he frowned. He needed to sit there if his plan would work. He walked up to a man who was trying to peer over the crowd to get a good look at the stage and pulled out yet another hundred gil. He didn't care how much it cost him to get a chance to see Tifa, and three hundred gil was nothing to him anyway. The man smiled widely and snatched the money from Cloud, hurrying away to find a different spot. Cloud kneeled on the stage, just as he had done the first night he laid eyes on Tifa, trying to look over the heads in front of him. He could hear the loud cheers and applause as the lights dimmed and a drumbeat started.
Tifa sat in her dressing room, her legs crossed, just gazing at the wall. Her head was propped up on her fist as she leaned over, thinking of her performance. She closed her eyes and sighed, knowing that this would be her last performance at this bar. She had lost herself in her career, something she had feared doing. She was on the road so much that she had no more time for the bar that was once her dream. She would sell it and trade it in for a roaming home, something that could move with her as she traveled.
She hated to do it, but she had to. If she were to continue on the path that she had selected, it would be necessary. She didn't want to lose her home but she knew that it would only hold her back and that her performances there would grow few and far between.
She stood up and shook her wrists to calm her nerves and loosen up her joints. She ran a quick voice exercise and drank half a bottle of water. She closed her eyes as she heard her name be announced. She slowly took a step out onto stage, trying not to look at the eager faces that were awaiting her brilliant voice. She didn't want to let them down and she knew that if she looked at them she would cry. She took the microphone off of its stand and moved the pole out of her way. She choked back her emotions and began to speak, agonizing as it was.
She was wearing a purple tank top with straps that stuck close to her neck with a thick red scarf around her neck. There was a large whole in the middle of the shirt that barely covered her breasts. She wore purple gloves that stretched up to her upper arm with a zigzag flap that hung over the hem. She had on a yellow half skirt with a thick waistline that reached just below her left knee and had thick blue stripes across it and was jagged at the edge. Her yellow thong sides stretched over her hips and she wore hot pink thigh-high tights with black garters to hold them up at that jagged white edges. She wore loose blue boots with yellow stripes and her hair hung loose all around her, with thin pieces braided and hanging down with the rest of it. (A/N: Rikku's 'Gun Mage' dress sphere).
"This song...is about...leaving something you love. This will be...my last concert in this bar. I can no longer keep coming back here, leaving my career." She bowed her head as a salty drop escaped her eye. "I'm sorry." She stood up and shifted her weight onto one leg, bending her other at the knee and bowing her head to the side in sorrow.
Made to think of the joys and sorrows
I relax in the sweet sound
Words, with their power, bring me to my senses
There is only one thing to transmit
Yes, on this cold cheek
I can feel the touch of the palm of your hand
By this fleeting warmth
Our separation can be filled by heartbeats
This time will dry up the rift
Because I can meet you when I close my eyes
That afternoon walking with you
Without reason, an unexpected thought
That before long, these days will probably end
More than the voice of a premonition, I hear
The exchange of smiles; I believe that
The palm of your hand can make it happen again
By this modest warmth
Our wounds will be sealed by life
To make it come true, if your love burns
Begin from this moment
Perhaps nothing in this reflected world
When I want to stop time
Even if the dreams I hope for disappear
Because this time of living without you isn't a dream
Fleeting warmth
Even if our souls are separated far away
Trembling, this moment
holds my feelings, to tomorrow
The palm of your hand that is dear to me
Because I can't forget it, when to you
I arrive after a struggle; we'll meet by chance, surely, even getting over the darkness...
She lowered her head once again as she brought her arm to rest upon her chest, between her breasts. She held her hand in a fist as if to fight the power that was overcoming her and turning her soul dark. She didn't want to leave her home, her bar, her modest dream. Her career had swept her up and ruined her humbleness. A drop rolled down her cheek, illuminated by the white light against the otherwise dark backdrop. She looked out at the audience, the pain of her emotions showing in her eyes.
She turned and left the stage area, painfully aware that she had devastated the audience with her shocker. She could not take it back, though she wished that there were some other way. Her bar had started her career, that was where she had been discovered. She couldn't ignore how much she owed to the building that had given her everything.
She sat down on her makeup counter, her back against the wall and her head resting against the mirror. She bent her knees and stretched her calves out along the table. She looked sadly into the mirror, her eyes wide and shimmering with the film of sorrow. She knew that in a few minutes she would have to face all the tears and anger from her patrons. She had abandoned them, her most loyal of fans, and that was punishable by eternal damnation in her mind.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, thinking of life at the bar. Her happiest performances were given at that bar; it always seemed to bring out the best in her. Now she would be on the road all day, every day. She would be sleeping on fold away beds or cots and using small, impersonal bathrooms. She had accepted her fate, but could she accept letting down those who had supported her throughout her career?
Yuffie knew how hard this was for Tifa. She had grown accustomed to the emotions displayed by each one of her friend's actions. She could read her mentor like a book and she knew that this was not what she wanted. She walked back stage to see Tifa huddled in the corner, crying into her knees. She walked over and placed a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder. Tifa put her hand over the younger girl's to thank her.
"It's all right, Tifa." Yuffie comforted. She leaned against the counter and wrapped her arm around Tifa's shoulders for support. "They understand. They're not mad."
Tifa looked up at her companion in innocent approval. She knew that her patrons would understand her leaving them like that but still...she felt guilty. Now if any of them wanted to watch her sing they would have to pay a lot of gil and that was something she swore she wouldn't force them to do.
"Come on, go tend bar and talk with them." Yuffie added with a wink.
It was time for the younger girl to leave and go home, but she also knew that someone special was waiting for Tifa. Tifa nodded and wiped away her tears, standing up and walking out the door to the bar. Everyone clapped for her one last time as she made her way to the bar to serve them drinks. She kept her eyes to the ground so that they did not see her cry, but she took their orders and made their drinks for them accordingly.
"What'll you have?" She asked a man sitting at the end of the bar, her last customer to be served.
The man looked at her intently, waiting for her to look up at him. He paused for a moment before responding, thinking of just the perfect thing to say to her. He looked down at the counter, his hands trembling and started to speak nervously.
"I'll have...Red Canyon." He said. She had turned to glance at another patron by the time she looked up, and still didn't notice him. She nodded and went to grab him his beer, turning her back on him to grab one from the shelf behind her. "Umm...could you add a little grape juice to that?" Cloud added.
Tifa stood up, her mind racing. No one in the world knew that she kept grape juice behind the bar except... It got her thinking. She arched her back and stared straight forward into the shelf, her heart sinking for a moment and then the butterflies started to flutter in her stomach. Her heart flip-flopped as she slowly turned around, nearly dropping the beer bottle in her anticipation.
It was him. Cloud Strife sat at her bar, ordering a drink. She had secretly wished that he would come find her, that he would prove somehow that he still wanted to be with her. She had dreamed about it for weeks and had even mentioned it to Yuffie, who smiled and giggled at her childish idea. Tifa's eyes widened with delight and her jaw dropped into a smile.
"H...hi." She squeaked out, causing him to laugh a little. She waved with her fingers and set the bottle down on the counter before she let it shatter to the ground.
"Hello there." Cloud said, pretending to be calm and controlled. "You were wonderful tonight." He took the beer and opened it before she mixed it. "Thanks." He said, toasting her with the bottle and bringing it to his lips. He grimaced in discontent and put the bottle down on the counter.
"Don...don't like the taste?" She breathed, realizing his game. He was starting over with her.
"No it's great, it's just that...I'm not much of a beer drinker." He responded, a coy smile spreading across his face. Tifa felt tears of joy form in the corner of her eyes as she smiled back at him.
"Me neither." She said, standing still and gazing at him longingly. The tears began to roll down her cheek for she was telling him that she missed him, and that, 'me neither', was her way of saying her life was nothing without him.
Cloud reached across the bar and wiped away Tifa's tears with his fingers, adding a soft smile and causing her to snicker at his touch. He kept his hand on her cheek, feeling her warm skin against his own as she nestled in his palm. She closed her eyes, thinking about how good it felt to have him touch her. She smiled heavenly, never wanting him to let her go.
Cloud stood up and reached his other arm around her back, pulling her up and across the counter, until their lips met. Tifa was surprised and let out a soft whimper as he pulled her close, her legs bent beneath her against the wood. She allowed herself to feel the pleasure and wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her. She could hear the patrons all around her cheering for them, and she laughed, resting her forehead against his and smiling. He would always be with her.
"Nothing will come between us again." Cloud whispered as their noses touched. He lowered his head to kiss her again, this time a little harder.