Disclaimer – Same as before.

A considerably shorter chapter than the previous. Meh, what can you do. Hope ya'll like it and whatnot, heh. This is my first time trying to write Cloud and Tifa, I hope they're remotely in character. Anyhow, on with the story.

Rain by Breaking Benjamin
Rain, rain go away come again another day
All the world is waiting for the sun
To lie here under you is all that I could ever do
To lie here under you is all

Chapter 2 – Rain and Hormones ---------------------

"Wow, fucking rain," shouted Cid, as the raindrops hit his airship, or rather, his baby

"I never liked tha' rain. A pain in the ass if ya ask me," said Barret, his words accompanied with an annoyed snort.

"A-fucking-men," replied Cid, grabbing a hold of the wrench from his toolkit, and making his way back into his airship.

"Cid, I thought asked you to tone down the language," shouted a voice from the house.

Cid paused, inches away from actually being inside his airship, and he spun around, only to see Shera, head poking out of their house's window, and he snorted.

"And I thought I asked you to make us some god damned tea," he retorted, crossing his arms arrogantly.

Shera rolled her eyes, "I made your god damned tea, if you want it, come get it, and for the last time, tone down the swearing. Honestly."

He could see that she was annoyed, and he sighed, running a hand through his blond hair, periwinkle eyes softening as he watched her. She'd changed so much over the passed year, she'd gone from the meek little thing that had pretty well done his biding, to the considerably stronger woman he had asked to marry him. She had come to realise that he was all bark, and no bite. Despite what he said, he preferred the change. Well, usually.

"Well, uh, sorry Shera, but would you close that damned window? Last thing we need is you catching the flu in your condition. You already have the sniffles, or whatever the hell it was," he said, and the annoyance fell from Shera's face, and was replaced by a content smile.

"Yeah, ok, but you and Barret come in and drink your tea before it gets cold," she said, and she closed the window with a slam.

He tossed his wrench uncaringly into the airship, and looked behind him to see the black man standing there, a devious grin painted on his lips. Just at that moment, Barret made a noise that sounded like a whip cracking, and hand movement to accompany it. Cid flushed at least three different colours before he settled for a deep crimson.

"Fuck you," was all he said, and Barret's grin widened.

The pair walked into Cid's house, and there was Cid's fiancé, Shera, sitting at the table, sipping tea, and reading a magazine. She looked over at Cid, a calm smile at her lips, and Cid was almost glowing with adoration for the woman.

They sat at the table, and Barret took a big gulp of his tea, which he immediately regretted, because the tea was extremely hot, and burned everything that it touched.

As soon as the tea went down his throat, there was a long string of curses, that made Cid grin with pride. Shera, on the other hand, was shaking her head with shame, though she couldn't keep the smile of amusement from her lips.

"Serves you right numbskull," he said, taking as much amusement into this as possible, and Barret sent him a venomous glare.

Shera gave a little cough, and Cid looked at her, suddenly feeling a bit of worry. What if what was happening to those people, was happening to Shera. No, he wouldn't let it happen, he wouldn't let things get that bad. Besides, she was getting better, and had had the cold weeks before it had started happening. Good, it wasn't it, it couldn't be it.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, and Shera nodded her head at him.

"Actually, I think I'm getting over it. That medicated tea worked wonders for my sore throat, but the nausea is still there, so is the insomnia, but I suppose that's to be expected," she said, instinctively rubbing her stomach.

"How far are y'along?" asked Barret, carefully stirring his honey flavoured tea.

"Nearly four months," she said, glowing with pride, and she looked over at Cid affectionately.

"How you fell in love wit' him, I don' know," he said, leaning back in his chair, looking over at a the still crimson Cid.

Shera didn't respond, just placed her slender hand over Cid's tense one, and as soon as her fingers made contact with him, all the anger and annoyance seemed to float away. The wheels in Barret's head began to turn, and he came to realise that maybe Shera was good for him after all. Who'd have known.

"Where're yer cigarettes, or as tha brat would call 'em, cancer sticks," he asked, making another attempt to sip the sweet tea, which had significantly cooled from his first attempt.

"Shera's making me quit. Bad for the kid," he said, his words accompanied with a sigh of longing, and Shera grinned, squeezing his hand with reassurance.

"There's still a bit of day left, we'd better get back ta workin'," said Barret, standing up in such a sudden movement that the chair was almost flung back onto the floor.

"When are you boys going to come back in?" she asked as she began to stand up, preparing to clear off the table.

"About an hour, when it's dark, we have to get this finished, there's no telling when it'll be needed. Cloud'll probably fuck something up, and we'll have to go to his rescue. Damned spiky-headed-twerp," muttered Cid, standing up as well.

Shera nodded her head, and made her way over to the ivory sink. Cid paused to watch her, for a moment or so, then he excited out of the house, alongside Barret.

The rain was pouring downward, and the breeze was cool as it whipped against his skin. Lightning lit up the sky with a crack, and to Cid, it seemed like a bad omen. It was as if it were saying that things were bound to get worst, and if that were true, they had to hurry.

---------------------

They had been searching the seemingly deserted Junon for hours, and Tifa was growing more and more irritated by the moment. She was already drenched, the rain was pouring, the darkness was moments away, and the wind was damn near freezing. Not to mention that her white shirt was see through when wet, which drew quite the audience from the few people she passed. In all honestly, she doubted things could get worst.

Cloud glanced over at her, and being a guy, immediately noticed that her shirt was see through. He cocked an eyebrow, and looked to her face, staring until she looked over at him. For a second or so, their eyes were caught in a deadlock, and neither spoke.

"What?" asked Tifa, cocking an eyebrow in return.

"Your shirt it's, uh, see through. Maybe we should get you a coat, or something," he said, and she broke their deadlocked gaze.

"Oh geeze, why would I want to do that, I love it when people gawk at me on the street, heck, wouldn't you?" she replied, sarcastically.

"Who's gawking at you?" he asked, his tone suddenly defensive, and she shook her head.

"Honestly, sometimes you're so oblivious," she said, though it was obvious she was amused.

As of that moment, Cloud began paying attention to the people that passed them, sending anyone suspicious that peaked at his companion a death glare, and he made sure Tifa stayed close to him. Not that she couldn't defend herself, but it made him feel better.

"Are the Turks even here? I can see this as being one big goose chase, and they probably know about as much as we do anyway, which would basically make them useless. Watch them want to team up with us, or something," muttered Tifa, and Cloud glanced over at her, her long brown locks drenched to the core.

"Hmm, but then again, they could know something, and maybe having them on our team could benefit us. So, lets mosey, maybe someone in that bar knows," he said, signalling to the building, with the neon green letters aglow that read 'Sweet Sally's Bar.'

"Great," muttered Tifa, glancing down at her see through shirt, and Cloud paused.

"Unless you want to get a coat, or whatever, first," he said with a half-smile.

"No, that's ok, I'll be humiliated either way, let's just get this done so we can check into the Inn, and we can go to bed. God, I'm tired," she said, and he nodded his head, the half-smile never wavering.

The pair made their way into the bar, and found it to be only half full, which was somewhat of a surprise since it was a Friday, aka, the day all the alcoholics unite to blow their hard earned pay checks on getting wasted.

It took a few moments, but most of the men noticed Tifa's presence, or rather, that she was well endowed and that her shirt was see through. Tifa rolled her russet eyes once more. Men.

"Hey, guys, pay her a little respect, she just got out of the rain, and here you are, gawking at her like she's a three headed chicken. There's nothing more to see, now return to your drinks, or be out with you," shot a woman from the bar, her voice demanding a great deal of respect, and all the men sheepishly averted their gazes.

Tifa and Cloud looked to her in unison, and there was a thin woman, mid thirties, long fiery red hair pulled up into a high ponytail, some strands escaping into her fair face. Her eyes were a startling shade emerald, bright and stood out of her face. She was wasn't exactly pretty, her eyebrows were over plucked and her features were sharp, but she had a lovely smile that flaunted all of her pearly white teeth.

She reached under the bar, grabbing something that neither Cloud nor Tifa could quite see, and she walked around towards them, and in her hands were two jade coloured towels, folded nicely, and waiting to be used. They each took a towel, and draped it over their shoulder, grateful to finally have something to dry themselves with.

"Thank you Miss… ?" said Cloud, waiting for a response, and the woman's smile deepened.

"The name's Sally Murphy, but please call me Sally. Miss Murphy makes me sound so old," she said, tucking stray hair that had fallen in her face, behind her ears.

"Ok, well, thank you Sally, can we ask you-" Cloud was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"Ask me anything you want, just come and sit at the bar, I have customers to serve, can't very well stand here chattin'," she said, and made her way back to the bar, cleaning the marbled black and white surface, lined with emerald green, with a rag.

Everything in the bar seemed to be made of wood, even the benches, though they were padded with emerald covers. There were black and white pictures on the wall of various parts of the wilderness. Trees, deer, birds, and other things of that matter. It was quite a cozy bar, if Tifa said so herself, though she felt a sudden longing to be at 'Eternal Heaven,' her own bar.

They both took seats on the stools in front of the bar, Tifa using the towel to dry out her long, dark hair. Sally left the rag be, and walked over to them, putting her arms on the bar, and leaning forward, looking solely at Cloud.

"Now, what is that you wanted to ask me?" she asked, emerald eyes searching his face curiously, mischievous grin teasing her lips flirtatiously.

Tifa took note of the flirtatiousness that was pretty well oozing off her, and she tried to contain the annoyance that whipped across her insides viciously. An unexpected wave of jealousy wove around her, and she looked down at her lap for a second or so, attempting to disband the persistent emotion, though the attempt was all but futile.

Cloud, as per usual, was oblivious to it, or chose to ignore it.

"Have the Turks been around here recently?" he asked, tapping his fingers on the bar with a strange rhythm that he couldn't seem to identify.

"Yup, in fact, I saw them early yesterday afternoon. They come in here quite often, though they weren't here today, though that was expected. They said they were leaving," she said, her eyes filled with a deviousness that made Tifa suddenly rather uneasy.

"Did they say where they were going?" he asked, and her grin widened.

"Something along the lines of finding someone, I believe they said they were going to find AVALANCHE for some reason or another. Hmm, you're Cloud Strife, aren't you? Part of that band of rebels?" she asked, twirling a lock of stray hair around her bony finger.

He nodded his head. "Did they say where they were going to find us?"

"Afraid not, or if they did, I didn't catch it," she said, pausing for a moment, before she spoke once more. "It's rather stormy outside, how 'bout you two stay here, I have an extra room, free of charge? That is, if you two don't mind sharing, or one of you could stay with me. Not that you particularly have much of a choice, 'cause the Inn is closed down. Renovations."

Cloud looked to Tifa, whose cheeks were on fire. He put his hand on hers, which was gripping her bare knee, the skin around it nearly white, and Tifa looked at him, her eyes locking with his in surprise.

"If it isn't too much trouble, we could share a room. We wouldn't bother you if the Inn was open, but it seems it isn't," he said, and Sally nodded her head, and her flirting dwindled.

She smiled calmly, though an edge of flirtatiousness remained, and she opened the door behind from where she stood, motioning for them to follow her. The pair followed her, Cloud's hand loosely gripping Tifa's wrist. Their still drenched shoes squeaked against the hardwood floor as they entered the dimly lit hallway.

The hallway was bare, nothing but wood walls, and wood floors, and three doors, as well as a window at the end of the bleak hall. Sally opened the first door to their right, and flicked the switch. She let the pair walk passed her, and Cloud observed the room.

The room was just like the rest of the bar, wood, wood, and more wood. There was a plain dresser, a bed against the wall, opposite to where the door was, and a small window above it. There was an ivory lamp on the nightstand, and an alarm clock on the other. To say the least, he doubted it could have been any plainer.

"Both of your clothes are wet, take them off, and leave both them and the towels outside your door. I'll clean and dry them by morning," she said with a faint smile, and they both nodded in unison.

She closed the door, and there they were, in a very interesting situation.

"Well, I suppose we should get to bed," she said, grinning at him uneasily.

Cloud nodded his head, and he turned away slightly, leaving her to her privacy, before removing his armour, putting Ultima Weapon next to the dresser, and stripping of his shirt. Really, he had no reason for this to be awkward, they were friends, they were attracted to each other, what was the big deal? He was still unsure about his emotions for her, that was why it was awkward, and she was stripping down into her underwear, so was he, oh god, it's no big deal.

Heck, he'd seen her in a bikini, there was no difference… right? Holy hell, he knew that he was making a big deal out of nothing, so why couldn't he stop the nervous feeling in his stomach? Damn it, he felt like a kid on his first day of school. God, he needed to stop obsessing.

He took off his belt, pants, shoes, socks, and he was standing there in his obsidian boxers. He turned around, and felt a twinge of surprise, though he shouldn't have, to see Tifa standing there in periwinkle underwear.

"For God's sake, I've returned to being a hormonal teenager once again," he muttered, and Tifa looked over at him curiously.

"What'd you say?" she asked him, and he shook his head.

"Nothing important," he replied quickly, quickly enough to grab Tifa's attention, though she didn't dare persist on the matter.

He picked up his clothes, and handed them to Tifa, who put them outside the door, and closed it once more. She flicked off the lights, before making her way to the bed across the slightly cool room.

He slid under the covers at the opposite side of the bed, ignoring that annoying feeling of desire that had begun to make itself known. Awkward, very awkward. Maybe she didn't notice. Damn, he hopped so.

In all honesty, when Cloud had paired them together, he didn't even consider the fact that something like this would happen. Why was life so complicated?

Both of them decided to ignore the awkwardness, the tension, and the strange emotions that they had already been feeling previously, but had decided to intensify at that moment, and go to sleep. Sleep was a sanctuary from everything, including unwanted desire, and strange, uncontrollable emotions.

At the break of dawn, Tifa found herself waking up. She didn't open her eyes, just listened. She listened to Cloud's breathing, and to her own uneven heartbeat as it pounded in her chest. The room was dead silent, or at least, until she heard the door's hinges creek. She didn't move, she didn't even breath. She couldn't describe it, but she was suddenly very uneasy, the hairs on the back of her neck were on end, and she knew that something was very wrong.

She heard someone creep in, their footsteps nearly silent against the wooden floorboards. Tifa's muscles knotted, and she slowly twisted around to her back, her eyes opened just enough to see, though it was blurry. She caught sight of fiery red hair, and a butcher knife gleaming in the early morning sunlight that crept through the window.

---------------------

As per usual, I know that you'd love to tell me what you think, and thanks much to all who reviewed before :) :)