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Well, the story is still not over. I don't know how many chapters are left for me to write, but I would say probably 3 or 4 are still to come. From here on out it's just basically the wind down. The "prologue." Err…is it "epilogue?"
Chapter 24.
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The walk back seemed like utter bliss. We walked hand in hand back towards the slope. Tifa had difficulty climbing the steep slope however. She said she felt strangely weak. I explained to her that it had been a whole year since she had done any major movements (like standing) and that her muscles had atrophied. In fact, it was probably a minor miracle that she still had enough strength in her legs just to walk.
I swept her off of her feet (which I found I would be doing a lot over the next couple days), one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, and carried her up the slope. "Would it be easier if I just flew you two to the top?" I heard a voice say behind me. I had totally forgotten that Vincent had been behind us. "Uh…that's okay. Thanks though," I said. "Suits yourself…" he responded.
I reached the top and put her down on her feet again. Tifa turned and saw the hospital. She froze and put her hand to her forehead. "What's wrong?" I said. "This place…I know this place…memories flooding back…" she muttered. "This is where you've stayed for the past year, Tifa. At the hospital in Mideel." "Oh…hey wait. I thought you said that you took care of me for the past year." She said looking at me sternly. "I did. I've lived her ever since we brought you here. I've taken care of you the entire time. Basically the only time I wasn't around was at night or when I was called somewhere." She looked at me confused. Vincent answered before I could, saying, "Cloud's a handyman now. He's the town plumber, electrician, blacksmith, and he also knows a bit of construction work. He practically built that house over there," he said, pointing to my house. "Really, Cloud?" Tifa said. "Yah…I've had to support myself somehow. I mean, I didn't know how long you were gonna be comatose. It could have been years. Many years. I knew that eventually the money I gained through the war would run out, so I prepared myself in advance." Tifa looked up at me. "I never thought that you were willing to give up your life as a mercenary for me…" "Things change, Tifa," I said. "You are all that matters to me now." Tifa looked back at me longingly.
"Ahem," Vincent said. Tifa blushed in embarrassment. "We should probably be getting Tifa to bed. As near as I can guess it's probably around two o'clock and she'll want all of her strength for tomorrow. She, err, we, will have a lot of explaining to do."
"You know, Vincent," I said. "You could just say that you were tired. We'd understand." Vincent didn't say anything at first. Then he bowed his head and I heard him mutter under his breath, "It's hard not sleeping in a coffin…"
We passed the hospital and walked across the street to my house. Tifa was amazed at how big it was, but she also said she didn't like how boxy it looked. "Well, that was a precaution," I said. "I hoped that one day you would wake up, and I figured if you did, that you wouldn't want to live here in Mideel. So I designed it so that should that day come, it would be easily converted into another wing to the hospital." "Huh…" is all she said.
We climbed up to the door step and I could see that Tifa was getting winded. "Here," I said, sweeping her off her feet again. "Let's make this formal…" I kicked open the door and using my foot, hit the light switch. The house lit up. It was modestly decorated. A couch, TV, a picture on the wall of the entire gang, a closet where I stored my swords, and a weight bench in the corner. The kitchen was a disaster area…I really should have cleaned that up, but the rest of the house was pretty clean. "This is my home away from home. It's not much, but I haven't actually been in this house much except to sleep at night and to cook some food." "You cook too?" Tifa said looking amazed. "Uh…maybe I should have said that I try to cook. Like last night I tried to cook myself some soup. It ended up bubbling over the pan and all over the floor." "Skilz…" Vincent said. "Shut up…" I responded. Tifa laughed.
After the short tour, I took her to one of the guest rooms. Again, I had designed this house to be easily added to the hospital, so there was a section of the house with several long and narrow rooms which I was using as guest rooms. "I designed this room with you in mind," I said, lying through my teeth. "It definitely needs a woman's touch," she replied. I laid her down on the bed and pulled the sheets over her. "Get some rest," I said, kissing her on the forehead. "Vincent and I will get your clothes in the morning." She nodded and we turned to leave. I turned off the light and started to close the door. "Cloud," Tifa said quietly. I turned with my hand still on the door's handle. "I love you," she said. "I love you too, Tifa."
I closed the door and looked around for Vincent, who I couldn't find anywhere. "Crazy vampire…" I muttered under my breath as I climbed the steps to my own room.
The next day started with a shock. I heard sirens outside my house at about six o'clock in the morning. I left my room, with only my shorts on, and opened the front door to see what the matter was. There were two cop cars in front of the hospital. Two police officers were standing in front of the hospital door, talking to a nurse. She looked a little frightened.
I ran across the street towards the nurse. She recognized me instantly. I noticed that she also was blushing a little. I then realized that I had no shirt on. 'Crap…' I thought, but I ran up to her anyways. One of the cops turned to me and said in a stern voice, "Hey look man, I don't know why you're here, but this doesn't concern you. Leave." "Relax," the nurse said. "He works here as a volunteer." "Oh…" the cop said. "What's the matter?" I said turning towards the nurse, who I knew as Julie. "Cloud…I'm so sorry." "Sorry for what? Did somebody break in last night and steal something?" "Well, sort of. I'm really, really sorry." "Was it something of mine?" "Well, yes and no. You see…Tifa is gone."
"Oh, is that all," I said laughing. Julie and the two cops looked at me strangely. "Relax. She's at my house." "Are you saying that you kidnapped her?" One of the cops said. I noticed that his right hand started moving slowly towards his right side. "Hey, relax. She's fine." I then turned towards the nurse. "Thanks to an old friend of mine, we cured her." The nurse looked at me puzzled. "You mean…" she said. "Yah." I said.
She let out a short, high pitched squeal and then hugged me. She then pulled away rather suddenly and clapped. "How did you do it?! You must tell me everything that you did! This is a break through! Last time we thought that you were a miracle, but if what you say is true, then maybe we can cure more people with Life stream poisoning. So what did you do, Cloud? How did you cure her? Where is she? May I see her? Do her eyes glow like yours?"
"Wow, slow down," I said. "I'll tell you all later. But right now, I'm tired and want to go back to bed. Tifa is still asleep, I hope (I gave a mean look at the cops and then motioned towards the cars. They understood and then turned off the sirens). If you want to see her you can, but I would much rather you wait until she wakes up." One of the cops stuck out his arm and pointed to me. "Look, mister. I don't know what you did, but I came in response to a kidnapping of a Life stream victim. I must see the girl and see her returned to the hospital." "Oh, there won't be need for that," Julie interrupted. "Her name is Tifa, and she is Cloud's wife." I looked suddenly at Julie, a little alarmed at the lie. "Oh…" one of them said. "In that case then there really won't be a need to return her to the hospital, as long as she is indeed in your house." "She is." I said. "Well, then I guess we can go," one of them said. They turned and went to their respective cars. One of them turned on his radio and said some code or something. Then they both drove off.
Julie turned to me again and looked excited. Before she could say anything I interrupted her. "Not now, Julie. I am really, really tired. I'll talk to you in a few hours."
I left her on the steps to the hospital and entered my own home. I then decided to go check on Tifa. I walked as quietly as I could up to her door and then ever so slowly, opened it and too a peak.
She was still asleep under the covers, thankfully, and the approaching dawn sent a pale light into the room that seemed to illuminate her face a little. She looked angelic. I smiled and closed the door.
The rest of the morning seemed a blur to me. I slept a few extra hours, then I woke up and took a shower, I dressed myself, and then I went downstairs and started making myself, Vincent, and Tifa, some pancakes. Vincent suddenly appeared already dressed at the end of the hall way. "What was all the commotion this morning?" he said. I then explained to him what happened. He had a good laugh. "You know," he said, "if it had not worked, how would we have gotten Tifa back into the hospital, assuming she was still alive?" "Uh…I never thought that far ahead, I guess," I said.
Tifa then appeared from out behind her door. I noticed her legs were wobbling a little. Maybe her legs were more atrophied then I thought. Tifa made not mention of it however. "Good morning," she said. "What are you trying to cook, Cloud?" "Heh…trying is an appropriate word. I'm trying to make pancakes…and I don't think I'm succeeding…" I said, as one of the pancakes fell apart on my skillet.
Later that morning, once we had all eaten my "pancakes" and dressed, we left, with Tifa, to the hospital. The doctor and nurses, including Julie, had a field day with Tifa. All sorts of tests which all confirmed what we already knew: she was cured from Life stream poisoning, and since her eyes now glowed gently like my own, that she was also most likely now completely immune to it. I filled out some papers releasing Tifa from the hospital (they had officially recognized me as her guardian during the past year), and she was free to go.
Later that day, Vincent decided he should go home to Nibelheim. "You're leaving already?" I said. "Yes, I think it's about time. Besides, I can't sleep in any of your beds. Their too soft. It's horrible…"
Before Vincent left, Tifa gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. I must say a surge of jealousy ran up my spine when she kissed him, but it dissipated quickly. "Come back soon," she said. He nodded, and then flew off. "What was that all about?" I said. "Hey, don't complain," she said. "I reserve the lips for you."
After Vincent left, I took Tifa around the town, showing her the various shops and things. She was amazed at how much the city had improved since Ultimate Weapon had come years ago. The city had almost doubled in size and population in the past year alone, and the slums and abandoned houses that had been here when we arrived with Tifa at the same time a year ago were now a thing of the past. We strolled hand in hand as I pointed out various people. Some people waved to me, others, especially some of the gorgeous young girls in the area, smiled but behind their eyes held a definite look of jealousy for Tifa.
By the time we finished the tour of the city and returned in front of my house, the sun had started to go down. Before entering, Tifa stopped me. "Cloud, there's something I have to ask you." "Hmm?" I said. "Well, actually two things. One…over the past year, did you ever…umm…well, have you had any other girls?" "Excuse me?" I said, a little confused on the question. "You know…did you ever sleep with any other girls?" I looked at her and saw the concern on her face. "No, Tifa. I would never have done that." Her face seemed to light up a little, but it still held a deep concern and darkened her eyes and countenance. "The other question I had, was, did you ever love Aerieth? I mean, really?" "Do you remember any of the conversation that we had in the Life stream, Tifa? Because I answered that question like ten times while we were in it." I said. "Well," she responded, "It's hazy. I'm pretty sure I know what you said, but I just want to be absolutely sure. And tell the truth…please." She gazed at me with almost a desperate look. "Tifa," I said, "When I first met her I thought she was a beautiful and amazing girl. The more I got to know her the more I was convinced of that. Then I thought I was starting to fall in love with her…and then she died. But I know now that I was not actually falling in love with her, because I have always loved you and just not realized it." A wave of relief swept off her face. "Hey," I said. "I never really told you what happened after the end of the battle last year, did I?" "No, you didn't," she responded. "In fact, you never told me what has happened since then." "Looks like I have some explaining to do…" I said as we walked back into my house, our arms around each other.