Chapter Seven – Amendments

Water flowing could be heard nearby as the immobile figure lay in the grass. Her eyes were closed, her lips set slightly apart as she breathed in deeply. The crisp morning air filled her lungs as birds chirped a lovely tune not too far away. It was supposed to be a peaceful, tranquil time but it only lasted for moments.

Her eyes were now ajar as she gazed up into the clear blue sky. Trees loomed over her as she sat up. What was supposed to be a calm and serene morning was drowned away as last night's events came flooding back. Her eyes began throbbing with pain from sobbing herself to sleep. Getting to her feet, her stomach gave a loud lurch, signaling her to eat. It struck her that she hadn't consumed any food since yesterday morning. With the busy bar keeping her from eating lunch, and then suffering from worry and doubt because of Cloud's short disappearance, Tifa had skipped two meals yesterday. Now her hunger had finally caught with her.

As Tifa began pacing through the grass, she couldn't help but take in the lovely view. The scenery was divine, but no matter how hard she pried for that smile she'd been desperately seeking, she couldn't. The previous night's incident and all that she had said had been seared into her mind so she couldn't forget. The thought of Cloud had simply blocked out every other emotion leaving her in depression. Tifa wanted to be content but instead, she felt so empty.

Swerving through the grass, she had her mind set on returning home. She knew that he wouldn't be waiting for her, for she had made it abundantly clear that his service was no longer required. Tifa was certain Cloud would have left; he wasn't the type to make clarifications or attempt to make amends. It was his way in resolving problems betweens friends: running away. If his mates made a request out of anger or frustration as she did last night without meaning it, Cloud would respect their wishes, believing every word said to him to be true. And after all Tifa shouted at him out of hurt and anger, there was no denying that he had left.

After a hike up the grassy hill, she finally arrived at the pathway she had taken yesterday evening. Her footsteps turned into a slow drag as she scraped her shoes across the floor with the occasional crunch of gravel. You've been selfish Cloud. Tifa recalled. Those four words haunted her. She knew what she said was in the heat of the moment, and knew that those four words had nothing to do with him. The selfish one was her.

As her feet did their dragging, Tifa realized she was the one who had always wanted Cloud to stay by her side, never leaving her. It was me. She thought bitterly, now blaming herself. She had become so used to Cloud being by her side that it was hard to let him go. Now after realizing how selfish she had been, she felt worse than before. She blamed everything on him and felt that she hadn't been responsible or man enough to take some of the blame on her own. If it was possible, she dragged her feet even more. Now that he had departed, she couldn't make amends. At the very thought of no more Cloud it made her swollen eyes water again.

She traveled for a while; it seemed her return journey was never ending. Now as she stood at the driveway, she dreaded entering the house realizing it would be empty and lifeless. Tifa remained standing, and gaped at the building which she always referred to as home. Never in her life had she ever dreaded retuning home, it was always something to look forward to when she'd been out for the entire day for supplies. But now, knowing that no one was to greet or welcome her, she struggled to make a decision on whether she wanted to go in or stay out.

There seemed to be a battle raging inside her as she debated on whether to go in or stay put. In the end as she gave a deep sigh, she decided to enter the building. If she chose to leave, there would be nowhere else for her to go. Losing her family was enough, but losing her only shelter? Tifa knew she wouldn't be able to survive, it was like suicide. Trudging up the driveway with her body slumped forward, and her shoulders flaunt down, she felt even worse. It had been mere hours since she was at the bar, and the last time she was there, was when she fought with Cloud.

As the entrance drew near, she stretched out her arm and reached for the handle. Reluctantly turned it, and pushed the door open. With her eyes set to be gazing straight ahead, the moment the door swung open to reveal her home, was the instant she held her breath.

Blinking countless times, hoping the lack of food wasn't playing wicked tricks on her, all Tifa could do was gawk, wide eyed at the image before her. He was standing there, just a few meters away, staring at her squarely in the eyes as she kept on blinking, slowly digesting what she was seeing. Still unsure of whether she was dreaming or not, she knew a method to be convinced what she was observing wasn't an illusion. It was his eyes. The intense gaze he was holding made her certain that it really was him. It was a method she had used many times when filled with doubt. She stood frozen and watched in a trance as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Tifa?" He breathed uncertain; it appeared that he had thought she was an illusion too.

At the very sound of his smooth voice, Tifa's heart gave a little leap. It felt good to hear his voice again, it was like music to her ears, and somehow it sounded better since she thought she was never to see him again.

Standing immobile, as silence engulfed the two, both parties could only gape at one another. Cloud appeared to be confused as his mouth opened and closed like a fish, seeming to want to speak, but not knowing how (or simply lost for words). Finally closing his mouth, he placed his hands by his side and took a step. On his first stride he stared at her and then gave a nod seeming to be satisfied by this action.

Throughout this, all Tifa did was witness the very baffled Cloud. She was surprised. Never in her life had she ever seen a confused Cloud who wasn't sure of his own actions. Now his ocean blue eyes were focused on her and all Tifa managed to do was breathe as his eyes never lost contact with her pretty brown ones. He found himself moving towards her and slowly, step by slow step, closing the gap that separated them. When they were finally standing face to face, his hands shot out and grasped her arms, pulling her into an unexpected sharp embrace.

Cloud positioned a protective hand on her head and noticed her arms had wrapped themselves around him too. She softened at his touch, and words began forming in his mouth.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, resting his chin on her head.

She had her face buried in the hollow of his shoulder and squeezed him tighter. Those words meant everything to her. The effect of the hug, and the warmth in those words, healed those invisible wounds and the heartache. Suddenly, she remembered the way she blamed everything on him and she felt a wave of guilt.

With his hand rested on her head and her eyes closed, Tifa couldn't find the strength to push him away to speak. Instead, keeping her head on his shoulder, and leaving her eyes sealed, she shook her head. "No Cloud, I should be sorry. I'm the one that's selfish. I've been keeping you, never wanting to let you go," she choked as tears seeped through her closed eyelids.

Although she was sorry, the words she was about to speak was the very opposite in what she desired. "Go, you're free to go." She managed, and mustered enough strength to push away from his warm arms. She could barely look him in the eyes, for the sadness she felt in letting him go was visible in her eyes, giving herself away.

Separated by a meter gap, he fixed his eyes to the floorboards, contemplating. A few moments lapsed as he lifted his blue eyes to her and shook his head. He felt he owed her something, and knew that words were the only thing he could use to explain. Taking in a sharp breath, words which were hard to locate a few hours ago had abruptly filled his mind, reaching his throat and finally coming out of his mouth.

"I wasn't going to leave," he began. It caught Tifa's attention, was he going to explain his intentions for being late yesterday?

"I…" Cloud drifted and averted his gaze back to the floor.

She advanced on him, "Yes?" she questioned, every pore on her body was being flooded with renewed hope, as well as curiosity. It seemed Cloud was full of surprises today.

Eyes set on the floor, Cloud spoke numbly. "I hurt too Tifa." He revealed and looked her in the eyes to show pain in them, the same pain Tifa felt. "You're not alone." He spoke.

She didn't understand at first. Was this his explanation? It kind of made sense in a way, but then it still didn't explain why he had disappeared yesterday. Their eyes made contact, and she didn't have to speak for him to understand that she still didn't fully comprehend what he was saying. He sighed.

"The children, my family…" Cloud murmured.

Tifa's eyes grew wide, so he actually thought of the children and her as a family?

As Cloud watched her, she was no longer staring at him, but her head had tilted to the side, so she wasn't facing him. This posture made her appear to be making sense of what she was told. "I miss them… I needed time to reminisce." He added and her head shifted back to be staring at him.

"Reminisce?" Tifa repeated softly and tears came to her eyes. Now everything made sense. He missed the children too. He had been away for some time alone, just to reminisce. At that very thought, Tifa ran to him and flung herself in his arms, her arms clasped around his neck. He was going through everything she was, hurt, pain, uncertainty, doubt… "Cloud…" She called softly as tears came to her eyes. "I... I reminisce too," she informed.

Cloud didn't know how to react at first. Her sudden emotions, and movements, everything that occurred within these few minutes seemed so… overwhelming. He knew that everyone thought he was heartless, but he couldn't let Tifa believe that of him, it seemed unjust. He'd been waiting for her to come home, and now that she was here in his arms, she was where she belonged. Back home.

A/N: Okay, this chapter got me stumped... I didn't know how to present it. I had it all set in my mind so clearly, but then when it came to putting it in writing, I became so stumped! So it's taken a while, but then I guess after reading this many, many times I'm finally satisfied : D So here I present to all you readers out there Ch. 7! Read, and review!And I just realised no where in this story have I mentioned it to be my first fanfiction! o.0 I cannot believe I forgot to inform! Oh well, everyone's gotta start somewhere! So here I start, on Ch. 8 that is! Hehehe! Well Cheerio! Take care and THANK YOU REVIEWERS! I am so grateful for every word, every symbol, every space! Everything you write, it helps a lot to know I'm not typing in vain. : D

And this is the longest chapter so far... It's got 1,888 words! Longer than the others! And I swear it looks long on Microsoft Word! (Not including my comment that is!)