Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7, any of it's characters or references.
Here's chapter 8 enjoy.
Chapter 8: Condemnation
Alone and walking silently, a tall, dark-haired individual, made his way through the endless white, on all sides, stretching on as far as the eye can see, it was even impossible to separate the ground from the sky, as below the endless shining light continued on, yet despite this, the all warrior continued walking. He was dressed in an outfit similar to Cloud's except his t-shirt didn't have a zipper on it, and had elbow guards on both sides, he also appeared to be lacking the wolf motif that Cloud also wore.
The male continued walking forward unfazed that there was nothing on the horizon, his mako-filled eyes never swaying, he was tall, taller that Cloud with a solid build and his slightly long raven hair falling behind him.
As he progressed ahead in the emptiness, a singular landmark became visible on the horizon, it was a small green dot, it seems so far off in the distance at least a day's walk, but as he stepped forward he found himself standing in a field of yellow and white flowers, the flowers' weren't very tall, barely reaching to the top of his boots. And all there were, was flowers, no grass, no shrubs, no weeds only those flowers that filled the area, the green beneath the flower giving the area its dominant colour.
His blue eyes were fixed on the maiden in the center of the field, he appeared to be somewhat praying while standing, her palm of her hands were together with her fingers intertwined, her eyes were closed and she stood upright, her pink gown reaching down to her ankles, her light brown hair, falling behind her and to the sides of her face. Around her was a haze of green light, like a gaseous substance but appeared to be a mixture of solid, liquid and gas.
The male figure made his way over to her careful not to step on any of the flowers, he stood some distance away from her, being careful not to touch the green glowing substance. Suddenly almost instantly the strange material disappeared and the girl fell forward, but as quickly as her body lost it's strength and no longer had any support to hold itself, the dark haired male leaped forward towards her.
"Aerith!" He almost yelled catching her in his arms.
Aerith's eyed were still closes, her breathing was shallow, slowly she opened her eyed, to find a blue pair looking down at her, the lower half of her body was resting on the flowerbed while her top half was embraced by her kneeling blue-eyed companion.
"Zack," She said her voice filled with compassion.
"Hey are you okay, you've got to stop doing that," Zack said concerned.
Aerith finally regained her compose and stood up leaving his embrace, Zack still sat on the ground, looking up at her who was looking down at him, her green eyes gentle and caring.
"Zack I must do this," Aerith said.
"I know, ever since that incident with Omega WEAPON," Zack replied, "But it puts you in so much pain."
"Zack, I'm not in pain, it just exhaust's me, it's impossible to feel pain when you're already dead," She commented, the latter part of her statement teasing him.
"I guess you got a point there," He finished.
"So?" She began.
"So what?" Zack asked a little confused from her statement.
"Where were you?" She asked.
Zack held his breath, he hated lying to her but knew she'd be angry if he told her the truth, "Nowhere in particular, I just went for a stroll" He answered looking up at her.
"I don't believe you," She said innocently teasing him.
Realizing she figured him out, he decided to confess, "Just went to see what was happening in the land of the living," He explained.
"And did you interfere?" Aerith asked again.
"Nope, not one bit," He replied.
Aerith sighed then knelt before him and leant forward, both her hands gently cupping his cheeks, she leant forward till her face was centimeters away from his. Her pink lips a breath away from his, he felt her warm breath on his lips as she spoke to him, he was beginning to loose control, it always happened to him and soon she'd have him spilling his entire life story to him.
"Zack, you know that when it comes to you, I always get what I want," She said seductively.
Vincent awoke to a peaceful morning, he was in the same room of the inn he stayed in for the past year, though the room held no surprises for him, he never got tired of it knowing whom he would be seeing later, but today he wasn't so sure, his date with Tifa had gone exceptionally well, until she reached back home, then it went all downhill. He laid in his bed, the sunlight shining through the window and onto his body, spilling out onto the white sheets of the bed, he slept in his usual clothes, minus his boots, he stared up at the wooden ceiling, he wanted so desperately to call her, just to hear Tifa's voice, to see her face, but didn't want to bother her, but he missed her, all he wanted to do right now was to be in her presence. He had only just awoke and was already thinking of her, part of him wanted to move in with her but it wasn't the right time yet, he knew a part of her still longed for Cloud, and he wished he could have her full heart, but he was patient and would take his time, all he wanted to do was be with her and take away her pain but he also knew that in her heart there was a pain only she could overcome, and didn't after the night's events, she needed some time to cool off. Maybe he could call her, just to make sure she's doing alright and ask if she wanted him to come over. He sat up from his previous position, he placed both his feet on the wooden floor and looked out towards the window, his future was looking as bright as the sun's rays flowing through it, his mind soon began replaying the night's events.
Flashback
It was peaceful when both Tifa and Vincent arrived back at Seventh Heaven, from the outside of the bar, it was exactly as when they had left, Vincent pulled up in front of the bar, he stepped out first, then went over to Tifa's side and opened the door for her, he then extended his hand for hers, she graciously accepted placing her slender fingers into his, he then helped her out and closed the door behind her, she released their bond and stepped up the small three stairs that lead to the front porch of the bar. She was once again wearing her high heel shoes, but was anxious to get out of them, she never liked wearing them for too long as she found them painful.
She didn't go into the bar rather she walked along the wooden floor turning to the banister to the right of the doorway and looked out at the sleeping city. Vincent walked up to her, he could tell she didn't know of his presence directly behind her.
"Are you feeling alright?" He asked.
Tifa turned to face him, "I'm fine Vince," She said smiling.
One of the features that first drew Vincent to Tifa was her infectious smile, it always seems to brighten up the mood and lift people's feelings, the way she smiled at people it wasn't a fake smile that occasionally put on to greet people, but a genuine smile that showed of the beauty of her heart.
The dark-haired man stepped closer to the crimson-eyed maiden, soon their lips were locked together, his hands finding themselves around her waist, hers around his neck, both their lips roamed over each other's as they both sought after a deeper pleasure.
Their moment of passion didn't last as they both heard a loud crashing noise from within the bar, instantly Tifa broke the kiss and shot through the door to see a sight she didn't expect. Denzel was on the counter, dressed in his white pajamas jumping up and down, there was also a broken glass dish on the floor.
The little boy was soon accompanied by his female accomplice who wore a similar outfit except her's had pink butterflies, they were both jumping up and down on the counter. Both children appeared to be overly active.
"You two, you said if I bought you that ice-cream you'd go to bed," A familiar voice called out.
Tifa turned to see one of her closest friends descending the staircase. The large black man stared at Tifa in shock, Cloud was supposed to be back before Tifa had arrived.
"Uhh…Tifa hey," Barret said feeling dumbstruck.
"Barret, where's Cloud?" Tifa asked surprised.
Vincent had remained silent accompanying Tifa inside and remaining hidden, he didn't know what was going on but maybe it could help him.
"Uhh…He said he was feelin' bored so he went for a ride on his bike and asked if I could watch the kids for him," Barret replied trying to make up the most plausible excuse.
"Is that so," Tifa finished.
Both men sensed something within Tifa, her tone had changed, she seemed somewhat angry, she then turned her attention to the two children, they were now off the counter and were sprinting towards her, she caught both of them, she masked her growing anger in front of the children.
"Did you two trick Barret in buying ice-cream for you?" Tifa asked.
Both children fell silent. Tifa got her answer from their response, releasing a sigh, she smiled at both of them, both children seeing her smile, smiled back at her.
"Alright time for bed you two," She said as she took them by their hands and led them up the stairs.
Again Vincent was surprised by her, even when she had a growing anger within her, it never invaded her untainted smile. Barret and Vincent remained silent and several minutes later Tifa came back down the staircase. She was serious once more, and both men could tell she was angry, her attention was fixed on the largest person within the room.
"Now tell me exactly, when did Cloud call you?" Tifa questioned her anger seeping into her tone.
"Around six thirty," Barret lied, trying to come up with a relative time.
Tifa's anger grew, it was shortly after she had left. As if on queue all three heard the familiar sound of a motorcycle engine come to a halt in front of the bar, seconds later the blond-haired swordsman walked through the open doors. Cloud found himself in a situation he didn't like, he was the center of attention, three pairs of eyes were on him, but each held a different emotion, Vincent's was conviction, Barret's was pity and Tifa's was anger.
"Strife!" Tifa said her eyes intensely focusing on him, her tone displaying her current anger.
She motioned for Barret and Vincent to leave, which they hastily did, "Unbelievable, the one time I ask you to do something, and you completely blow it off!" Tifa said angrily.
Vincent now outside could her Tifa begin reprimanding Cloud, deciding he didn't want to her Cloud get his punishment and it wasn't his place to interfere…yet he would take his leave. Barret also approached his truck, which was hidden, Yuffie was sitting in the passenger seat looking extremely bored. As soon as both men reached the driver's side of their vehicles, they saw Cloud march though the door and onto the front porch, both men hadn't heard Cloud speak back to Tifa while he was being scolded by her, he seemed to be like a child receiving his punishment, but now with him walking through the door, he seemed annoyed and angry, Tifa followed him through the door. She was still angry at him and her rage was building because they seemed to be falling on deaf ears.
"Cloud where are you going?" She demanded.
The ruby-eyed maiden was met with silence in return, he stepped out of the porch and made his way to his bike completely ignoring Tifa.
"Cloud I said come back here, I'm not finished!" She yelled at him.
And again was met by silence, Tifa fell to her knees, her black dress spilling over the porch at what happened next without even saying a word to her or without turning to face her, Cloud got onto his bike and drove off into the night.
End of Flashback
To Be Continued…
So I got some anti-Clotiness in this chapter, sorry but it's part of the storyline, I actually uploaded chapter 8 earlier but decided to redo it 1st then post it up, also I'm sorry about this but i don't know when my next update will be, I'm typing with one hand here because my left hand suffered an injury, i was putting up a window, and a glass fell, i tried to catch it and well my palm almost got severed, it's in one piece but was cut badly, doctor said i should regain full functionality, so i'm sorry if it will be a long time before I update, also i'm halfway done with my next chapter for DT, so even if i have to type with one hand i hope to get it up soon...
Till next Time...