A/N: Super short chapter that was never in the writing plan but I wrote it anyway because I!can't!help!it!

PS: still shaking from the recent 25th anniversary news!

Her morning alarm rings exactly at 6am in the morning.

It's the sound of echoing electronic beats – catchy when you're just casually listening to it, but not so catchy when it reminds you of an early morning schedule to wake up to.

Tifa rouses from her sleep at the first beat and rushes to turn if off before it drags on any further.

Half-asleep, she pushes herself up to sit.

She looks to her left – Cloud's side of the bed, and finds it empty.

She doesn't think much of it.

Maybe he's already awake, taking a shower, or having his breakfast. It's rare but it happens sometimes.

She heads to the kitchen, yawning and squinting her eyes through the brightness that filters into the apartment from the windows.

In the kitchen, there's no sign of Cloud.

Still, she doesn't think much of it.

She lets water in the thermos pot boil as she's rummaging through the refrigerator to retrieve a triangular wrap of salmon rice ball.

Holding a cup of green tea, while munching on the partially unwrapped rice ball, Tifa walks to the living room, thinking of checking the early morning weather report.

She jolts when the entrance door slams open.

In comes Cloud, looking all awake and crisp.

Tifa takes a seat at the armchair, eyeing him closely as he falls onto the couch.

She's forgotten about tuning into the early morning report altogether.

"Did you sleep out last night?"

The answer is obvious but she wants to hear him say it.

She can smell soap from him.

An unfamiliar scent. Someone else's brand of soap.

"Yeah," he says, eyes covered entirely by one of his arms. "I was… at Zack's place."

Of course.

Tifa rolls her eyes.

"We were bar hopping with the client 'til 4am."

She doesn't like this one bit.

"So is this going to be the new normal now for you? Going out until dawn with the client and sleepovers at Zack?"

He's quiet for some time, before parrying, "If that is what is demanded of me, then there's nothing I can really do about it."

There's nothing you can do about it. Tifa bets that this is what he really wanted to say.

She takes more bites out of the rice ball and can barely taste the salmon.

"By the way, were you with Aerith last night?"

"And if I was?"

"Zack's really upset about it."

She scoffs. "So it was him who couldn't stop calling her."

"Don't get too close to her."

His eyes are no longer hiding behind his arm as he issues his warning and it really just pisses her off.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Why do you want to be on his bad side so bad?"

"Why are you siding with him?"

They're now locked in an exchange of glares, and she has no plans to back down.

"It. is. just. a. fucking. dinner," she speaks again, punctuating her words.

She wants Cloud to know that he's looking extra dumb by siding with the psycho asshole.

Cloud looks up to the ceiling. "Whatever, Tifa. I'm just telling you to stop trying to rile him up."

She rises up from the armchair and hovers over to him.

She wants him to look at her face as she declares, "Well… fuck him and his feelings."

She returns to the kitchen, banging her cup into the sink. "God forbid a woman leaves her boyfriend's side for a few hours of dinner with a friend without him acting like a clingy bitch."

She doesn't wash the cup. All the anger that's hammering on her head doesn't want her to.

"Also, FUCK you, Cloud," she manages to say as she heads to the washroom.

She's sick of breathing the same air as him.