Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters. All rights belong to Square-Enix.

Final Fantasy VII: Sin's Past

Chapter 3: Home Away From Home

Cloud slowly made his way out of the doorway and down the hall. He knew he was in for it now. Not only from Tifa, but from Marlene and Denzel too. Cloud let out a sigh as he slowly descended the stairs. Tifa and the children could hear Cloud's footsteps, and while the children were excited, Tifa knew what to expect.

"Morning Cloud!" said Denzel.

"Hey kids." Cloud responded. He looked at Tifa, trying to see if she was still angry at him. She didn't bother to look back at him, knowing however that he was looking. She continued making breakfast, and quickly turned her back on him. Cloud looked away as he sat down at the table. Denzel had eaten his pancakes rather quickly. He wanted to commence with the celebration already. They had all planned to go out today for Denzel's birthday and just enjoy a good day at the park and the market.

"So, are we ready to go Cloud?" the boy asked his hero. Cloud saw the innocent eyes Denzel held, and was immediately overcome with shame and guilt. He looked back at Tifa once more, who had her eyes on him. She motioned her head at Denzel as if saying 'Go on. Answer him'. Cloud brought his attention back to the boy.

"Actually Denzel…. I… I have a lot of… work to do, so…. I can't come today." Cloud's heart ached even more when he saw the happy eyes of Denzel instantly become sad and disappointed. His hero let him down… again. How could he do such a thing? And on this day? He didn't want to make Cloud feel any more guilty than he already did, so he tried to pass off that it was ok.

"Oh. Well, that's ok, Cloud. I'm sure you would be with us if you could." He pushed his seat back to go to his room. Marlene did the same, knowing that Denzel would need some support. Cloud tried to make up for his stupidity.

"But I'll be back later and we can celebrate then."

"No… that's ok. Don't worry about it Cloud." Denzel kept walking up the stairs, his voice reflecting the sadness in his soul.

"Denzel. I promise I'll make this up to you. Tomorrow I'll take the day off and we can go to the park."

"Sure. That's fine." Denzel wasn't excited though. No matter how earnest Cloud was about this promise, Denzel just saw them as empty words. He and Marlene went to their room and shut it. Now, the real trouble was about to begin.

Cloud rested his head on his hand. Tifa hadn't spoken yet. Believing that she was waiting for him, Cloud finally spoke up. "I'm sorry, I really am. I just… forgot." "You mean you didn't care enough to remember." Tifa had beat around the bush to the real truth behind it, even though Cloud didn't believe it. He really did want to remember Denzel's birthday, but from all the work he had been doing, and all the thinking of Tifa, he just forgot. The nightmares didn't make it any easier.

"Tifa, that's not true." He pleaded.

"Oh yes it is. We never seem to be number one on your priority list." Tifa was not looking at Cloud, rather she was furiously washing dishes. "When we need you the most for family time, you always seem to be occupied. But when a delivery must be made or someone to fight, you come shining through."

Cloud couldn't offer up a response. He knew that she was right, and that arguing would do him no good. "Tifa, I really am sorry." The brunette immediately slammed dishes down on the counter. They didn't break, but the noise was very loud. Cloud looked at her, and she looked back at him, anger swelling in her eyes. " 'Sorry' won't cut it this time! What the hell is your damage? Why can't you ever just accept some happiness for a change? What do you want from us? All we ever do is put up with your attitude and your excuses!" Tifa had finally had enough. She wasn't prepared to kick him out, but as long as he lived with them, she would chew him out when he deserved it. And this tension had been building up for too long.

He still offered no defense for himself. Go on Tifa. Chew me out. I deserve it for what I've put you all through. His head sunk low as he braced himself for the next verbal attack. Tifa was silent however. Breathing in deeply, she knew that screaming his head off was not going to change anything. She had tried helping him for so long. Since that didn't seem to work, she figured that it was time that Cloud dug himself out of his own mess. She walked out from behind the counter to go to Denzel's room. She stopped at the stairway to leave Cloud with some parting words. "Figure out what it the hell it is you want, then you can come apologize." With that said, she walked up the stairs to Denzel's room.

Cloud was left in the silence. It seemed to be all the he had with him other than his friends, but he seemed to accept the silence more than them. He slammed his fist on the table, angry at himself for being such an idiot. He calmed down before he attempted to hit the table again. Still angry at himself, Cloud got up from the chair and walked upstairs. He stopped outside Denzel's room, hearing voices from inside.

"Denzel." Marlene said. "Cloud really is sorry. I'm sure he didn't mean to forget."

"Then why did he forget? Doesn't he like me? Doesn't he like us?" he was referring to Tifa and Marlene as well. Tifa looked at Marlene. Both had the same sad eyes. Trying to console Denzel, they both hugged him from opposite sides. "Cloud loves you both." Tifa said. "He's just… confused right now." Her attitude about him had changed. Though she was still mad, Tifa couldn't help but still love Cloud. "Don't worry kids. Cloud is trying, he really is. Just give him some time, ok?" They both nodded.

Cloud was still silent as he heard them speaking. Guilt was all he could feel in his heart. He had caused them so much hurt, and still Tifa defended him. Not two minutes ago she was chewing him out. Now she said that Cloud just needed time. I've wasted too much time already. All I seem to do is push them away. Cloud walked to his office to grab his keys before leaving. As he turned to walk out, something caught his eye. It was the picture of the whole gang the day they stopped Kadaj. He made his way to the desk and picked up the frame. He slightly smiled at all his friends. That is, until his eyes caught Tifa's face. There he stood, just staring at Tifa's beautiful face. Cloud always believed she was beautiful, nothing would ever change that. But, it was so much more than her beauty.

The way she always stayed with him when he needed her, the way she always had words ready to help him, even if she was screaming them at him. She had always been there for him. Even when he pushed her away, she was still there. There was so much more to her that made Cloud…. love her? Was that what this was? Love? It was such an unfamiliar thing to him. In all his life, Cloud had never been in love with anyone…. except Tifa. He had loved her all along. The problem was, he was too reserved to ever tell her. And… he always believed it was unrequited love. How could a wonderful person like Tifa ever cherish someone like Cloud? That was why he always spent his time trying to find ways to earn her love. Who could ever love me? With a heavy heart and a big sigh, Cloud set the picture down and left the room. On his way through the hall, he stopped at Denzel's door again and touched it lightly with his fingertips. Tifa's right. Just give me some time, ok? I'll get myself out of this mess I've made. He continued down the hallway and down the stairs until he made it outside to his Fenrir. He started the engine and turned the bike around, preparing to go on his way.

Before he left, Cloud looked up through the window into Denzel's room, gazing on Tifa and the children. He then brought his attention back to the road and sped off.

---

Silence. That was all that was left in the town of Nibelheim. Any of the townspeople that were still alive either escaped into the mountains or managed to leave town completely. Everyone else…. well, didn't make it out of town. In the center of this once vibrant village was the tall tower that Cloud and Tifa once used as a meeting place. At the base of this tower, the boss leaned against it, twirling his sword as the metal made various scratching noises against the dirt. The other gang members were off pillaging or burning anything they wanted. What was once five had now numbered somewhere near ten. The first five were the best of the gang, so it was only right that they should go first after all. Not too far from the boss was the large man. He stood at nearly 6'5", and weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of 280 lbs. This was not fat weight however. Well, not most of it anyway. His stomach stuck out somewhat, but the rest of him was all muscle. He wore a shirt with the sleeves torn off and black pants.

The boss was shorter than his right hand man, but there was a reason he was the boss. His short spiked hair pointed mostly up, but there were the occasional spikes that went in different directions. His outfit was actually a full bodysuit, loose around the legs, with the left sleeve, including some space near the shoulder, torn off completely. The torso half of his bodysuit was a perfect fit for him, able to show off his athletic build without looking like spandex. The last touches were fingerless gloves he wore on his hands, and his black boots.

One of the gang members with a rifle came up to the boss to speak with him. "Hey, Zetrion, when are we gonna call up this buddy of yours?" The boss, now known as Zetrion, opened his eyes and glared at this grunt who dared speak to him.

"In time. I'm too busy enjoying the spoils of our pillage today."

The grunt was confused at his statement. Zetrion had no possessions near him other than his sword. However, the dark haired savage wasn't talking about loot. Zetrion smelled the air around him. The smell of smoke, chaos, and blood. These were like a drug to him. These were the spoils of his pillaging. The rest of the gang thought he was crazy, which he was, but they weren't about to go against him either. Their reason: just look what happened to Nibelheim, and that was only because the people were in hi way.

"Come one man, we've been waiting here for…"

He was cut off immediately. He was seemingly unable to find air to speak his next words. When he looked, he found Zetrion's hand around his throat, gripping it tightly as his eyes slowly started seeing black. He heard a dark chuckle echo from the lips of Zetrion.

"If you're so bored…. perhaps you'll be able to find more entertainment…. in the Lifestream…"

With that, he quickly jolted his hand to the left, snapping the grunt's neck like it was a twig. After Zetrion chuckled once again, he tossed the dead body aside and watched it hit the ground. Turning around to the rest of the gang, he still had the same evil smile on his face. "Dormay." He called out to his right hand man. "Make the call. I'm gonna do a little exploring." Zetrion turned back to the tower and grabbed his sword. He held the sword in a reverse style, where the blade was behind rather than in front of him while he held it at his right side.

He walked up a dirt path that forked, forming two other paths. One lead to the mountains, famously known as Mt. Nibel; the other, to a much darker place with as much dark history as the mountains themselves: Shinra Mansion. It was built as a stay for Shinra employees, mostly executives, when the mako reactor was built in the mountains. What most don't know about it was that a mad scientist, Dr. Hojo, used this mansion to house his sick experiments. This was the very place where Cloud was held and experimented on after facing Sephiroth.

Something else most don't know is that Zetrion also has history tied to this mansion. Feeling like was in a home away from home, Zetrion stepped through the front door to carry out his exploration.

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. They have encouraged me to continue with this story. Some of the dialogue in this chapter was influenced by "I Need You To Love Me" by Barlow Girl. I heard the song on a CloudTifa fan video once and I liked the video a lot. All Cloud and Tifa fans should watch this video. You will really believe that it is about Cloud and Tifa. Well, I'll update as soon as I can. I have a long day tomorrow filled with an 8 hour shift at work grumbles. So I'll probably update on Tuesday. Later!