Chapter Nine – Consequences

Tifa sat on the step quietly outside the porch of 7th Heaven, waiting as patiently as she could for Cloud's return. Her hands were clasped together nervously, as built up tears swelled in her eyes. She was not going to cry. Even though she was alone, and the children were gone, and even if Cloud wasn't around to comfort her, she was going to remain strong for her own sake. She knew she couldn't afford any self pity at this moment; otherwise she would never get herself back together in order to find the children. But as hard as she fought the tears, the thoughts of the children flooded her mind, as guilt rushed over her. Things weren't supposed to turn out this way…

She fought hard to stomp out the negative thoughts seeping into her mind, but in the end she could fight no more. Eventually doubt got the better of her as tear after tear rolled down her pale cheeks. The guilt and regrets appeared to be suffocating her, dragging her into a world of self pity, a place where she didn't want to be. Her surroundings faded for a while, her eyes falling in and out of focus, her gaze declining to meet the concrete floor.

A battle was raging within her, a battle between sanity and madness. The unnerving thought was she was losing this fight; she was losing her mind. As she used whatever was left of her strength to fight those demons, a subtle scraping of shoes on concrete brought her back to her senses, giving her power to win the fight. Slowly coming back to reality, her eyes focusing once again, she spotted a pair of black boots before her. Blinking a couple of times she felt the wet stains on her cheeks as she hastily wiped them away to hide her vulnerability.

Unable to stare at him, she remained frozen in place, her head hanging, and her eyes were only able to gaze at his boots. Awkwardness pursued for some time before Tifa noticed his warm hand extended toward her. Feeling numb, she gradually placed her small hand in his as he helped her to her feet, their eyes locked onto each other, and for once in her life she saw pain in them.The look of pain he held was very unique compared to the old pain heonce possess. The hurt in his eyes appeared to be from wanting something that he couldn't get. His blue eyes almost made her believe that he truly wanted her, but before Tifa could make certain of the intense gaze he held, it was already gone.

"The children…" Cloud spoke, breaking the long silence as he agonizingly released her hand.

By the time his words reached her ears, she was already on the move to where the children's bedroom window was located on the exterior of the house. With Cloud following behind her, she pointed to the window, and watched as he examined the image and shifted to have his back facing the window, his eyes discovering a small trail that led to a forest-like environment a few miles away.

Seeing where Cloud was looking, Tifa's heart thumped in her ears. "I took them there a while back..." Her voice drifted, as she watched Cloud. "It's a very big area," She added as he gave a nod and commenced walking down the trail, his arm reaching over his shoulder to ensure that his sword was with him.

Their journey to the deserted region was a quiet one, as the two of them tried to stay positive with their current situation. Tifa noticed Cloud appeared to be alright, but she was struggling to keep her composure as a little hope was lost with each step she took. So far there were no signs of Denzel or Marlene, and she kept her finger crossed that she would find them soon. They travelled for another mile, their destination plainly in view before the tears started again.

Trying to be discreet about her tears, she sniffed softly, but it appeared Cloud had the ears of a wolf as he turned to face her. With her hands covering her eyes as she wiped the tears, she walked into him. Things took their course as Tifa's hands dropped to her side, apologizing for her mistep. She began to back away slightly, expecting to commence walking again, but Cloud did something that she wasn't aware of. Tifa felt Cloud's hands on her arms as he pulled her into a warm embrace, his right hand protectively covered her head.

At first, Tifa remained stiff in his arms, but at the soothing feeling of his warm embrace, tears flowed down her cheeks again. Her eyes were tired of crying, but she appeared to have an endless supply of tears. Breathing in his lovely scent, her body automatically softened, as she instinctively buried her face into the hollow of his shoulder. Her arms crept up his back as she wrapped them tightly around him, not wanting to let go. All thoughts slipped her mind, not remembering Cloud's words from the church… Nothing mattered anymore when she was in his arms.

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In the distance, situated behind a large tree, stood two small figures, their two heads peeringaround the tree, watching with wide eyes at the scene, a grin overtaking each youthful face. With their eyes never leaving the scene, they quietly inched away to a safer place. It was a relief that Cloud had his eyes focused on Tifa instead of directed ahead where he would be able to spot them. Marvelling at the success of their plan, Marlene and Denzel unhurriedly slipped away, hiding behind more trees; the image of their guardians embracing disappeared from their view.

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"We'll find them." Cloud soothed, as he breathed in the heavenly fragrance of her hair.

He felt her nod, her head never once leaving the security of his shoulder. Remaining immobile, Cloud couldn't find the strength to break apart first. As he waited for her to recover, he felt her release her grip on him, being the first to separate from the embrace, and oddly Cloud felt disappointed. Smiling weakly, the tears now dried up and gone, Cloud could only watch in silence. It was the closest they've been in days, and he never realised how much he missed her until now.

"Let's go." Tifa whispered.

The rest of the journey consisted of the two adults' seeking for Marlene and Denzel. Both Cloud and Tifa never once separated from one another, not wanting to be alone. It wasn't until they reached the centre of the vicinity that Cloud spotted something. Immediately instincts overtook him as he stood over Tifa protectively, his sword in hand, his body set in an alert stance. With his eyes scanning across the many trees that surrounded them, he targeted two small shadows ahead. It suddenly dawned on Cloud that everything was a set up… Everything made sense as he figured who the two dark figures were, reading their stances and realising they were peeking at him and Tifa. Dropping his sword,Cloud turned to face Tifa.

She lifted her head to meet his eyes, the look on her face almost identical to the look on his. She too realized that the children had planned this all along, and suddenly she had the urge to cry out of relief, as well as laugh at how childish but clever Marlene and Denzel were. Remembering the tears she cried, and how worried she'd been,Tifa pulled on an angry expression before speaking.

"Denzel! Marlene!"She shouted, certain that the children would hear her angry tone. "If you two don't hurry up and come out from where you're hiding, I will extend your one month cleaning into two!" She exclaimed and waited.

Throughout Tifa's announcement, Cloud was only able to watch and wait as the children slowly came out from hiding. He grinned inwardly at the expressions etched on Denzel's and Marlene's faces; the two of them mirroring the same look, both of their expressions long and dark. Denzel glanced up to meet his blue eyes, the look in his eyes said 'save me' and all Cloud could do was grin as he placed his hand on the boy's head, ruffling his hair affectionately. Without anymore words exchanged, the four of them, like a family, began their trek home.

During the trip, Marlene and Denzel spoke, forgetting about their punishment as they both made remarks about their victory. Spotting Tifa's look of warning, they immediately closed their mouth, scared that she might give them their full sentence of doing two month's cleaning. Turning to face Cloud who had witnessed the children's scared look, Tifa threw him a wide, infectious grin, making Cloud smile in response. As the both of them spotted the smile on one another's face, they laughed, making the children shift to face them. The kids gave their guardians a puzzled look, not understanding the joke. As Denzel and Marlene continued walking ahead, they realized they had learnt a very valuable lesson today. For every action, a consequence always followed... Both Marlene and Denzel had learnt that the hard way, even if their intentions were good.

A/N: Some CloTi-ness in this chapter, and a really hard attempt in putting a grin on your face as you read this chapter. So did I succeed? Well you'll have to tell me that. But now that things are 'normal' again between CloTi, I predict a chapter is going to make their relationship more than normal :D

So stay tuned, and review when you can! And I'm no inspiration, it's the comments and words you reviewers type that inspires me! So I thank you :D

'Til next time, keep safe!