Well I'm back after my brief Cloris outing and now onward with a new chapter.
Chapter 5: Moving On
"So what do you think?" A small boy asked.
"Are you still with that ridiculous theory?" Marlene asked.
"What's so ridiculous about it?" The white capped boy asked.
"That every time it rains it's the work of the lady," Denzel replied sitting on the sidewalk.
Marlene was sitting beside him, there were two boys and a girl that stood in front of them, they sat at the alleyway close to Seventh Heaven. A while ago this alley would be filled with sick children who carried the disease, now Denzel, Marlene and their friends came here often, it was still morning a little before midday, Cloud had a few deliveries to make so he left early hoping to come back before lunch, the overhead sun could be seen as there were hardly any clouds in the sky, it was a stark contrast to the previous day where think grey clouds covered the sky, there was a gentle breeze in the atmosphere that kept blowing it's wasn't strong enough to hit their clothes against their skin but was enough to tousle their hair.
"I think that's the dumbest idea I ever heard," The girl with pigtails replied.
"Come on if you guys think about it, it makes a lot of sense," The same boy kept protesting.
"You know it rained before we were cured when we still had the disease and it never cured us," A larger boy said but he was still as tall as the rest.
Finally the capped boy sighed in defeat, "Anyway I'm hungry, Hey Denzel why don't you go ask your mom if she had any leftovers she could give us."
"Yeah I'm hungry," The chubby boy added.
"You're always hungry," Marlene stated.
"Yeah you're right there," The girl with pigtails said as she giggled, all the children then burst out laughing.
Tifa had finished cleaning some of the dishes that were in the sink and began wiping down the counter, the bar wasn't full only four patrons two that were by themselves and another two by a table, they kept their conversation to themselves while the other two drank in silence. The dark-haired beauty looked to the doorway as she heard it open but it wasn't a new patron it was Denzel, Tifa smiled at him. He approached the counter and climbed onto one of the stools.
"Where's Marlene?" Tifa asked, "It's unusual for you to be without her."
"She's outside with the other guys," Denzel replied, "Hey Tifa do you have any extra food?" He asked.
"What's the matter are you hungry?" She asked innocently as she placed her elbows on the counter and leaned forward to look at him so that now they were at both the same eye level.
Denzel didn't respond. He only tried to put on one of his innocent faces as he looked at her, Tifa only smiled back, "So your friends are hungry also huh?" She asked, "Well tell them to come in and I'll prepare a fresh meal for all of you, I'm already preparing to serve lunch for some of the customers."
The boy's face lit up when he heard his guardian's statement and immediately climbed down and ran back outside, Tifa smiled once again as she saw him leave.
"Cute Kid," An icy voice said from behind the young maiden.
Tifa however wasn't surprised by the voice she knew who it belonged to, she turned around to see a man dressed in black and with a red cape standing behind her.
"Yeah he is," Tifa said smiling at him.
Soon the five children quietly and cautiously walked into the bar however Denzel and Marlene wasn't very shy at all seeing as this was the place that they lived, they immediately went up to the counter and each climbed onto their separate stools, the three other children followed. As soon as they were all seated Tifa came and placed a plate filled with food before each of them, they children all stared with wide eyes and drooling moths at the food that was on their plates.
"Now eat up and don't hesitate to ask for more," She said smiling at the children "Now what do you want to drink?" She asked.
Marlene had recommended a type of juice from the menu and they all agreed to it, soon Tifa was off to get it for the children. Several more customers came in for lunch so Marlene said she'll get the juice while Tifa went to tend to her customers. Vincent lay silently in a corner hidden in the shadows, his eyes was fixed only on one thing and that was the ruby-eyed maiden who was serving as the bar-hostess. He had seen the way she interacted with the children and her customers, with such love and compassion, every time he saw her move, it was like watching art, her movements were graceful, he would never admit it to himself but the only reason he was here was so he could be closer to her. He wasn't just attracted to her because of physical beauty but of who she was, she had captured his attention from the first moments he saw her but quickly dismissed his feels because of the way he saw her looking at Cloud and because he thought that he was in love with someone else. However as innocent and attractive as she was he could somehow sense a deep sorrow from within her, Tifa had always been one to mask her emotions but somehow this time she wasn't doing the excellent job she always did, normally only her close friends would be able to figure out if something was wrong but only if they really studied her, now, even her patrons could somehow feel her sorrow.
He was soon interrupted from his train of thought when the door opened again but instead of a new customer Vincent saw his rival, well as far as Tifa's heart was concerned. The blond-haired swordsman walked into the bar and up to the children sitting behind the counter, instantly as Denzel and Marlene saw him they jumped onto him and he hugged them in return, then Vincent saw the way Tifa was looking at him, with the eyes of desire, happiness and love, secretly it was the same way he wanted her to look at him but he brushed aside the thought, he already had a women he loved or so he forced himself to keep believing, but he didn't know if she was alive or dead, plus he had to many ghosts from his past and he didn't want to burden her with them, so for now he'll just settle with merely being her friend and being in her presence.
Tifa approached Cloud, he released the children and looked at her, the two children had finished eating along with their friends and now left the bar with their juice packs in hand.
"Are you hungry?" Tifa asked him as she went behind the counter and Cloud followed.
"Just give me what the children were eating," Cloud said, Tifa smiled at him and went to prepare the food.
Cloud watched her attentively, the way she buried herself in her work, he was completely unaware the vampiric man was also in the room, he could see her still fighting against her heart and putting on a mask for the world to see.
"Tifa, are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine," She replied as she turned around to face him now holding a plate of food in her hand, she placed it on and empty place and proceeded to take the dirty dishes the children had left behind and place them into the sink.
"Tifa, you're lying, you're not okay," Cloud replied after observing her.
She turned to him, her eyes was sad, he was half expecting it to be filled with anger, "I can't be angry at you Cloud, but how am I supposed to feel the only man I ever loved loves someone else," She said.
Cloud lowered his head not wanting to look at her, "Tifa if there's something I can do to take the pain away I would," He said finally looking up at her once again his eyes looking at her desperately.
Tifa placed her arms around him and embraced him, feeling her warm skin against his felt shockwaves through his flesh, before he knew it he was also holding her tightly against him, "Just stay with me, and let's take care of our family together," She stated.
Cloud smiled, "Of course Tifa and thank you for giving me another chance."
Tifa nodded as best she could while being held protectively against him, she smiled at the thought at least she would have him for a bit.
Little did Cloud know that aside from Tifa there was another pair of red eyes in the room, and those eyes weren't filled with love or passion or consideration but the complete opposite, those eyes were glaring at him and were filled with murderous intent.
1 Year Later
It had been a few months since the uprising from the Deep Ground Soldiers but it had been taken care of and Vincent had defeated Omega Weapon. He had since returned to working at Seventh Heaven but now he was different and everyone could see it, finally coming to terms with his past and letting go of a pathetic excuse for love, he was finally able to move on with his life.
He had walked into the Seventh Heaven bar. Tifa smiled when he entered, the bar was empty seeing as Tifa had decided to take the day off. Denzel and Marlene were off playing with their friends again and Cloud had left to make a delivery. It was a little past midday, and the sun shone with all it's glory, the rays of sunlight entered the bar from the door and windows and brightened the room, a smile formed on his lips as he approached the woman. She had finished washing all the dishes and walked out from behind the counter. The distance between the two closed, both held a smile on their lips when they were close enough, Vincent wrapped his hands around her waist, Tifa responded by wrapping hers' around his neck. His head lowered and she moved upward a bit, both pairs of eyes closed as both pairs of lips locked together into a tender yet passionate kiss.
Outside the bar the sound of an engine died as Cloud brought his motorbike to a halt, He descended the vehicle and made his way to the front steps of the bar, as he reached the transparent door he looked through, what he saw made his heart stop, all the blood froze in veins, it was the last thing he had ever expected to see.
To Be Continued…
Ah somehow i bet the CloTi supporters are gonna hate this chapter, don't worry explinations coming soon, well now you know why Vincent joined the bar, what's going to happen next? well...i don't want to sell it out, like i stated at the beginning of this chapter I was falling into the Cloris bandwagon but don't worry I've now become a dedicated CloudxTifa supporter again, i had a temporary solution with someone trying to assault me, but now after playing the game(yet again) and watching the movie(japanese and english again, despite i prefer the japanese version, i like thier voices better) and watching last order(again) i can say without a doubt that i will never waver again.
So Till Next Time...