They had forgotten.
Tifa tried not to let her feelings get hurt. They were all busy. They all had their own lives to live. She had her own life to live. She understood that. She only wished that she could have forgotten herself. But she'd remembered the moment the sunlight streaming directly into her east-facing window had woken her up, and she had opened her eyelids to gaze sleepily at the strange shadows playing across her ceiling.
Twenty-one. The age of consent. Even though she had been living on her own, responsible for herself, since she was fifteen and Sephiroth had struck her father down, taking away her last means of familial security, as well her innocence, twenty-one was special. Or so she thought. It was supposed to be, right?
She didn't feel any different. She couldn't feel any older than she had a year before when she had faced down Meteor and the ultimate destruction of the planet. Once you survived something like that, you couldn't really fear anything anymore, could you? That's what she thought being twenty-one would give her, an absence of fearing the unknown, which could then give her control, or at least the allusion of it. But she was still as afraid as ever. She'd always been afraid. Afraid when she woke up in an unfamiliar room, her chest burning with the fire of a thousand fully-mastered materia, and the discovery that her nightmare was real and she would never see her father again. Afraid when she'd agreed to let Barret use her bar as a front for AVALANCHE because of the physical danger, and how deeply she'd let herself get involved and come to care about those people…Biggs, Wedge, Jessie…whose deaths, as well as all those who died when the Sector 7 plate was dropped, still weighed heavily on her conscience. Afraid through all her journeys with Cloud in pursuit of Sephiroth. And still afraid after they'd defeated him…what would she do now? Would Cloud still be at her side? How could she cope if he wasn't?
She'd found the answers to those questions. She'd returned to Nibelheim, the place where all her nightmares had begun, and she helped rebuild. She had become a tour guide, just like she had been when she was a girl. As much as things had changed, the mountains were still the same. They were still a source of comfort and serenity. She had spent so much time in the mountains when she was a child that it only felt right that she would return to them now when so much about her fate was still up in the air. And Cloud had come with her, moving into the house next to her just like when they were children. They had been happy, at least for a short while, but as she watched the restlessness in him she wondered how much longer it would be before he had to leave, just like when he'd left before to join SOLDIER. In some ways their return was too much like their childhood, and Cloud was destined for adventure, and always had been.
She shrugged those thoughts aside as she sat up in bed. She rubbed the grit out of her eyes and yawned sleepily, then pushed the soft downy covers away from her, and slipped out of bed. Her feet softly padded on the carpet as she made her way to her bathroom. She went through her normal morning ritual, but paused to look at her face, searching for any indication of her new fully adult status. Just as she suspected, nothing was really different. Her skin was just as flawless as ever, pale and smooth. Well, maybe the dark circles underneath her eyes were a little different. She frowned, her large ruby eyes staring back at her in the mirror dispassionately. She hadn't been sleeping well as an ominous feeling of discontent seemed to envelope her recently. She missed the camaraderie she had felt when she had fought with the group as a team. She missed knowing that Vincent was in the rear, silently guarding their vulnerabilities. She missed Yuffie's excited cries of delight every time they discovered new materia. She missed the cloud of smoke that permeated everything that came nearby Cid. She missed the warm feeling of Nanaki's fur as she petted the soft coat. She missed the way Cait Sith would come up to her every morning to ask her if she wanted her fortune told. She missed Barret's snoring, which had always reminded her of her father. She missed the clean scent of dirt and herbs and flowers that always clung to the flower girl's skin. Gods, did she miss Aeris, and every morning she would send out a little prayer in hopes that Aeris could hear her in the Lifestream and revel in the knowledge that she would always be missed. And even though Cloud was nearby, she missed seeing him acting as a leader, strong and confident. She thought maybe he did too.
All the rest of the day, she kept expecting to hear the phone ring, and pick up hearing Yuffie call her an old lady even though there were only four years between them, or Barret tell her that her getting older meant that he was getting really old. She didn't expect anyone else to remember since unfortunately after the group had dissipated she hadn't been able to keep in touch as much as she had hoped. But she always remembered to send them a card on their birthdays and call just to see how they were doing. She had seen Cloud earlier in the day as he was getting on his bike to go off god knows where as his job called for, and he had waved to her, but had made no mention of her birthday. She really tried not to get mad at him. He had always been absentminded and oblivious when it came to personal things, it should be no surprise now.
She went to work as usual at the Visitor's Center near the edge of town and took a family into the mountains. They had the cutest little girl with a dark ponytail tied together with a big pink ribbon. She reminded her of her Marlene. Marlene was getting to be a big girl. She had shot up several inches since the last time she had seen her which was a couple of months ago, and she was sure she had gotten taller still since then. Looking at children and thinking about Marlene got her biological clock ticking. She really wanted children of her own, but that would be kind of hard since she didn't have a husband, or even a lover…only a best friend who she knew she could always count on and trusted implicitly. She could handle it if there was never anything more between them, couldn't she? But why was she even worrying now? Twenty-one wasn't that old, she still had the rest of her life to get married and have babies.
When she had returned the family to the Visitor's Center, she decided to take the rest of the day off. She didn't have anymore tours scheduled and she could pretty much do anything she wanted since she was considered somewhat of a celebrity as the one of the only surviving people after Nibelheim had been burnt to the ground, and as one of the members of AVALANCHE who had helped save the world. She decided to go to the spa and get a facial, as well as a deep tissue massage. Those always made her feel better.
Hours later, feeling more relaxed and content than she had in weeks, she returned home. The moment she walked into the door she was she was taken aback by the thunderous roar of all her friends as they shouted, "Surprise!"
"You didn't forget!" she cried out, and then began to laugh as she was enveloped in a warm hug by Yuffie.
"How could you think we would do such a thing?" Yuffie asked exasperated. "I'm surprised you didn't find out. I was sure that Cloud would screw up and let on that we were throwing you a surprise party."
Tifa glanced at Cloud. "He didn't give me a single hint. Was this your idea?" He blushed and nodded.
"But don't think he did this without help!" Yuffie interjected. "Do you really think he could organize all this by himself?"
"You helped too?"
"Of course, I did!"
"Thank you, Yuffie." She turned back to Cloud. "Thank you, too. It means so much to me."
"Happy Birthday, Tifa," Barret greeted her, kissing her on the forehead. Marlene was right behind him and threw herself into Tifa's arms. "Happy Birthday, Tifa. I missed you. I was so happy when Papa told me that we were coming to see you today."
"I missed you, too. Thank you so much for coming to see me," she said wrapping her arms around her tightly.
Everyone was there. Cid and Shera, who was sporting a very pregnant belly, Reeve who she had only met a couple of times in person though they had communicated often through email and his electronic toy, Nanaki, Elmyra, Johnny and his girlfriend, even Vincent who she could have sworn didn't even like parties, and a few neighbors.
There was a knock on the door, and Tifa opened it to discover Reno and Rude. "Shit! We're late," Reno exclaimed, handing her a messily wrapped package. "Happy Birthday, babe." He pecked her on the lips in that casual way of his that she found both endearing and irritating. Rude blushed as he handed her another smaller box that was painstakingly wrapped in silver with a blue ribbon. "Tseng and Elena send their regards, but they could not be here. Rufus Shinra regrets that he could not make it, but informs me that you are to call him the next time you are in The Edge and he will be happy to take you out to dinner to a restaurant of your choice."
"Thank you, Rude, for the present and for coming." It still surprised her that she was no longer running from and fighting with the Turks. But ever since they'd met up with them in the tunnels beneath the Shinra Headquarters they'd come to a truce, and even forged a fledgling friendship. Sometimes she even got the feeling that the silent baldheaded man liked her. But that couldn't be true, right?
After she'd gone around and talked to everyone she was urged to cut the cake. Everyone sung "Happy Birthday" to her and then she blew out the candles and made a wish.
Next, she opened presents. A hand drawn picture of her with Barret and Marlene…the little girl's somewhat stick-like drawings had become more realistic as she got older. Tifa was very impressed with her talent and cherished the drawing as one of her favorite gifts. Barret's gift was less creative; a basket of soaps and candles from The Bath and Body Shoppe. Cid and Shera's gift was practical and useful; a Shinra-manufactured backpack for hiking, lightweight and yet durable, with a first aid kit and everything else that might come in handy on the side of a mountain. She suspected that Shera was the one who was truly behind the thoughtfulness of the gift. Vincent had surprised her with the unexpected generosity of his gift. "They were my mother's," he said of the beautiful antique combs he had given her. "They were not of much use to me, and I could think of no one whose hair they would look lovelier in."
"Your mother's!" Tifa gasped trying to push the combs into his hands. "I cannot accept these, Vincent. They're much too special—"
"As I said, they were of no use to me, and it would be a shame to waste such beautiful items with disuse. You wear them. I know they will look good on you…and you remind me so much of my mother, I think they will suit you well."
"Thank you, Vincent," Tifa replied, her voice thick with emotion. "I'll put them on now," she said, leaping up and running to a mirror. She swept her hair back and then pushed in the combs, ensuring that her hair would not fall in her face. Everyone admired the effect.
After she had finished opening the rest of her presents, people chatted and caught up with each other. It made Tifa feel so loved having everyone there with her to celebrate her birthday. They managed to stay late into the evening, but then people began to leave. Most were only there for the night and had gotten rooms at the Nibelheim Inn, so she promised to have breakfast with them in the morning before they left to return to their homes.
Cloud stayed behind as everyone else left. When Tifa began to collect dishes and various trash left behind as evidence of the earlier merry-making, Cloud stopped her by taking the dishes into his own hands and setting them down on the floor. "Leave it for tomorrow. Today is your special day and you shouldn't be cleaning up after others."
"But it's my house. I can't leave it dirty."
"I'll get it tomorrow. You still have one more present left."
"You got me something?"
"Sort of."
"But you already did so much for me, planning this party and all."
"When you see, you'll understand."
He grabbed her hand and then led her into her bedroom. "What are we doing in here?"
Instead of answering he drew her tightly against him and kissed her. Deeply. Their tongues collided heatedly. She tasted like coffee and birthday cake, and he couldn't get enough of her. Her clean scent intoxicated him. It was just like he imagined it would be.
When they finally pulled away to catch their breaths, he grinned at her. "Do you get it now? You're present is me."
"But…" she began, flabbergasted. "You never even had the courage to kiss me before, and now because it's my birthday you want to give yourself to me, like you're some kind of male prostitute!"
Cloud shook his head emphatically. "It's not just because of your birthday. I've wanted to do this for a long time. I've laid awake at night thinking about how good it could be between us. Do you know how sexy you are? All it takes sometimes is a look from you and I get so hard. Don't you feel how excited I am for you?" As close as she was pressed to him, she could feel it. Like hot steel.
"But why now?"
"Why not now?"
"You've seemed…restless lately, like you didn't want to be here anymore. You distanced yourself."
"Wouldn't you if every time you came near me you were afraid that your hard on was showing?"
"That's why you kept away?"
"Yup. UST. Unfulfilled sexual tension."
"But…" Tifa began.
"But what?"
"You're going to make me say it," Tifa sighed dejectedly. "Don't you…still…have feelings for Aeris?"
"It's been over a year since she died, and while a part of me will always care about her and regret that she is dead, I've come to realize that she's gone, and I'm still here, and so are you. It's you I love, Tifa. Only you."
"Wow. That's the first time you've said it to me."
"But not the first time I've felt this way about you. When we were kids I had a crush on you, and then I met Aeris and I thought that finally I might get over you, but I didn't. You were still in my heart and always will be."
"I love you, too, Cloud. More than anything." Then she kissed him. Cloud plunged his hands into her hair and ripped out the combs Vincent had given her, throwing them onto the floor. "What did you do that for?" Tifa asked.
"They're very nice combs…but, don't wear them again, will you?"
"Why not? They were his mother's!"
"I don't like the idea of you wearing something of his in your hair. It's too…intimate. And don't wear those earrings Rude gave you either. I think he likes you."
"You think Vincent and Rude like me!"
"You had better not take Rufus Shinra up on his offer of dinner. And if Reno ever kisses you again I'm cutting his lips off!"
"You were jealous!"
"Of course, I was. I think everyone was trying to proposition you tonight. I'm very possessive when it comes to the people I love."
"But I can't not wear them. I liked my gifts. How about this? I'll only wear them when I know they'll see me wearing them and you're not around."
"But that's just as bad!" he whined.
Tifa laughed and cut off further protests by kissing him.
A long while later, Tifa sighed contentedly in his arms. "I think this is the best birthday present I've ever gotten!"
A/N: Ijust found out that Tifa's birthday was today,so I scrambled to create something to commemorate the occasion. I meant to do this sooner because I knew it was coming up, but I was too lazy to actually look it up. I picked her twenty-first birthday because in exactlythree months I'll be turning twenty-one, and I've already had similar thoughts about my life and what it means to be "of age."