Premonitions III: Advent Children

Chapter 5: Old Wounds

Cid, Jessie, Red XIII, Vincent, Reeve, and Barret escorted Sephiroth through the the underground dungeon in God-Knows-Where, Western Continent.

Sephiroth was silent the entire time. He was still shackled and handcuffed, though the effects of the drugs were wearing off. It didn't matter; they lasted long enough to put him on a makeshift elevator and lower him into his cell, which, this time, was a hundred feet below. Only the window through which he was lowered provided a view to the outside world.

"Here we are," Cid announced as he shook the makeshift elevator until it broke into pieces. "Enjoy spending all eternity here."

"That's what you think," Sephiroth taunted.

"Oh," Barret added. "Almost forgot somethin'."

With that, he raised his finger and cast break, turning him into stone once more.

"There," Jessie announced triumphantly. "Now he's back to his state of living death."

"A chance for life," Red XIII observed.

"Relax," Cid insisted. "Tonight, we're having a victory party!"

THAT NIGHT...

The victory party occurred at the underground bowling alley in Nibelheim. It had been open for years; Cloud and Tifa once went there, I believe on the latter's thirteenth birthday.

This time, I was there. I was given the credit for tripping Sephiroth, though I certainly didn't intend to!

Some of us were on bowling teams. Cloud, Tifa, Tobin, and I formed one group. We were, very appropriately, called the Newlyweds. Barret, Jessie, Vincent, and Lucrecia formed another team; they were called, morbidly, the Formerly Deceased.

Zack was sitting quietly at the bar with Yuffie. He appeared down, as if something was still on his mind. I was tempted to ask, but I didn't want to overstep; he had Yuffie.

Meanwhile, us bowlers were all having a good time. I would blow Tobin kisses whenever I got a strike. I also knew how to twirl to make my skirt rise just enough without showing my underwear; I did it frequently to get Tobin's attention. Tifa, meanwhile, was wearing a pair of jeans that really showed her butt off; I could see Cloud staring whenever she got up to bowl. I could tell she had worn them for him on purpose. The Formerly Deceased seemed only interested in playing, but, hey, we didn't call ourselves the Newlyweds for nothing!

There were a few more familiar faces down there: Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng. They had been enemies of Cloud earlier on, as they did work for the Shinra. That all changed when Cloud rescued them from Don Corneo in Wutai; it caused them to question where their loyalties were.

After Meteorfall, Tifa had a chance encounter with Elena, and they quickly became the best of friends. She was even maid of honor at the wedding. It was Elena who had suggested their naked honeymoon on the private island.

Those two mingled again once their game was over. I simply overheard the small talk.

"It felt funny putting clothes on again," I overhead Tifa say, referring to the naked week she spent with Cloud.

"I don't think we'll get married," I later overhead Elena say. "We happy with what we've got."

"Don't forget to keep the fires burning!" I overheard Elena playfully advise Tifa a few minutes later.

"I'm wearing a thong for him," Tifa replied. "In case you're wondering why I'm walking a little funny."

I wasn't actually eavesdropping, by the way. I was sitting at the bar with my husband, and we were having a beer. We were only having one, since we hadn't decided who was driving. But I was happy to be having a drink with my husband. Tifa was only twenty; she couldn't even have champagne at her own wedding.

And speaking of them, Cloud and Tifa approached us and said good-bye. They were going home, obviously to do what married couples do.

Meanwhile, new teams were starting to bowl. Cid, Shera, Elena, and Tseng formed a team. Another team was formed by Reeve, his husband, Parker, their eleven-year-old daughter, Sage, and Red XIII.

Never underestimate Red XIII; he gently rolled the bowling ball with his nose and got a strike.

Meanwhile, Zack played pool with Yuffie, but he seemed off.

I was starting to worry.

MEANWHILE...

Holding hands, Cloud and Tifa ascended the stairs to their bedroom. They both scanned the room when they got in; each side had been one of their childhood bedrooms, and they had knocked down the wall that had separated them.

Cloud kicked off his shoes and, without undressing, plopped onto the bed. Tifa kicked off her sneakers and joined him, also without undressing.

Cloud turned to face his wife. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, kissing her softly on her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked.

"I'm fine," Cloud replied. "Now that Sephiroth is locked up again. But the Geostigma Crisis is still going to come."

Tifa began to lovingly stroke his spikey hair.

"We have two years to get ready," she assured him. "And we'll be ready."

She then kissed him again.

There was a mirror on the wall, where Cloud was able to admire Tifa's figure in her orange baby tee shirt and tight, dark blue jeans.

Tifa was all aware he was staring at her reflection, and remembered what she was wearing for him.

It was time to lead up to it.

"Damn, these jeans are tight," Tifa sighed. "This is why I wish we were married. I'd be able to take my pants off."

"Umm, Tifa?" Cloud began as he gently took her left hand and tapped on the engagement ring and wedding band that she was wearing.

"Wait a minute!" Tifa played along. "We are married! I can take my pants off!"

With that, she unbuckled her double-grommet belt, unzipped her jeans, and pulled them off, revealing the white thong they had been concealing.

"I didn't know you were a...thong person," Cloud observed.

"I wore it for you, silly," she replied before kissing him.

This time, their tongues met, gently caressing each other.

"I take it you're feeling better now?" she asked with a smile.

"Definitely," Cloud replied.

The young newlyweds continued to hold each other, making conversations and frequently taking a break from it to kiss each other. Cloud would peek at the reflection of Tifa in her shirt and thong every few minutes, trying, unsuccessfully, to keep her from noticing.

It really touched me how much Cloud and Tifa were in love; you almost never see that these days.

"I wonder what they'll do with the Chronus Wand," Cloud wondered aloud.

"They'll probably put it in a museum," Tifa replied. "Personally, I think they should destroy it. How many times has that thing fallen into the wrong hands?"

"Too many," Cloud replied.

They kissed again, and, when they broke the kiss, they were both smiling.

And then, the smile quickly faded from Tifa's face.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly said.

"For what?" he asked.

"This thong's getting really uncomfortable," she replied. "I need to take it off."

She pulled her thong down, past her knees, past her ankles, and tossed it aside.

"Whew!" she sighed in relief. "That feels better. Why does anyone even wear these?"

She then smiled and stroked his spikey hair again.

"How are you feeling?" asked Cloud, as he laid his eyes on Tifa's bare butt through the mirror.

"Content," she replied before kissing him.

"This boy loves you," he said to her.

"This girl loves you," she said to him.

Tifa then scanned behind Cloud.

"I can't believe this is the same room now," she began. "Remember how we used to communicate through Morse code through the air ducts?"

"All too well," Cloud replied as he looked into his wife's beautiful, brown eyes.

"I actually went in once, when I was eleven," Tifa informed him. "I was trying to find a way to your room so I could sneak over there in the middle of the night and we could have a pajama party."

"Liar liar, pants on fire," teased Cloud.

"I don't have any pants on," Tifa laughed back.

She then kissed him again; somehow, it was something she never even remotely tired of.

For another hour, they remained in each other's arms. They continued to kiss each other, and, yes, Cloud continued to sporadically glance at Tifa's bare butt in the mirror. Give him a break, he's only human.

"I never did say thank you," Tifa suddenly began.

"For what?" asked Cloud.

"For marrying me," she replied as her eyes became wet.

"Happy to do it," he said with a smile as he stroked her long, beautiful hair.

She glanced at her wedding band, and smiled.

"I could glance at this ring as much as you glance at the mirror behind me."

Cloud began to blush.

"Oh...you noticed," he said sheepishly. "Sorry."

Tifa simply laughed and pulled him in for a hug.

"You can stare at my butt anytime you want," she assured him. "I am your wife, you know."

"I love you for being Tifa," he insisted.

"And I love you for being Cloud," she replied. "But I do like watching you shower."

Cloud looked at Tifa in the eyes for but a moment before rotating himself onto his back. As his arms were still wrapped around his wife (as her arms were wrapped around him), he took her with her.

Tifa then found herself on her knees over her husband, with her butt sticking into the air. Laughing, she brushed her hair out of her face so she could look down on the man she loved.

"I like this," she said with a smile before kissing him again.

She then buried her head into his chest.

"Actually, I could probably fall asleep like this!"

Cloud took his right hand and gently rubbed up and down her back through her shirt. Then, deciding to be slightly more bold, he slid his hand down to the skin of Tifa's exposed rear-end, and began to rub it up and down.

"How does that feel?" he whispered.

"Good," she whispered back.

He continued to do what he was doing for several minutes before returning his hand to her back. He kissed her once more, gently pressing his tongue against hers.

And then, Tifa asked the inevitable.

"Do you want to have sex tonight?"

"Definitely," Cloud replied.

Tifa smiled again before passionately kissing him on the mouth.

MEANWHILE...

Back at the bowling alley, things were not so happy.

I watched Zack suddenly stop playing pool and walk to the bar, clearly with something on his mind.

"What's wrong?" Yuffie asked.

"I'm fine," he replied.

I saw the whole thing; I knew by his body language he was lying.

Zack was down. Despite his good fortune over the last week he was still down. He was able to tame Yuffie Kisaragi; a feat nobody else seemed to be able to accomplish.

At first I thought it might have been their age gap. Yuffie was sixteen; he was twenty-four. I then quickly dismissed the idea. I mean, I'm three years older than Tobin, and I still consider him my soulmate.

No, it wasn't that. Maybe he was wondering if his relationship with her would last. Yet he seemed confident with her when they interacted. No, that couldn't be it, either.

Of course, I then realized.

It wasn't Yuffie.

He had been returned to society. He had reuinited with his parents. And yet, there was the elephant in the room. He had not the time to address it, but it was there. He never mentioned it to anyone, but it was clearly on his mind.

The ache in his heart that he had not mentioned to anyone since being rescued.

The loose end he never tied up.

And then, I saw somebody else come in through the door and down the escalator.

The elephant in the room was here, only in the form of a girl.

She stepped off the escalator and began to walk towards the bar. She took a seat next to Zack and Yuffie, and looked on at them.

Nobody noticed her, not even the bartender.

She was twenty-two years old.

She would be twenty-two forever.

Her name was Aerith Gainsborough.

And she was dead. Nobody could see her.

Except for me.

This is the one thing I've never told anyone.

I can see the dead. I don't know the explanation for it, but those in the Lifestream appear to me a lot. I'm not the only person they can appear to, but it's significantly more often than anyone else. But I'll explain that more later.

Aerith appeared transparent to me. She was wearing the pink dress and red jacket she had worn when she was alive. She continued to sit for a few minutes before standing up and trying to touch her former boyfriend; of course, her hand went right through him.

"Sooner or later, he's going to lose it," Aerith said aloud, knowing nobody could hear.

Except me, of course.

"If only I had known what had happened," she continued. "I would have waited. I would have sent someone to rescue you."

Yuffie then put her hand on Zack's.

A tear rolled down Aerith's cheek as she looked on at the man that had once been hers.

"I can't blame you," she said. "I dated Cloud after I thought you were gone forever."

Zack and Aerith did have a good relationship. Several months before Zack went on that fateful mission, I spotted them on the boardwalk at Costa del Sol.

But that's another story. Now remember how I said I screwed up on the fourth day of our honeymoon? Well, that was it; I was the one who told Tobin about Aerith's fate.

We were in the pool in our swimwear, sitting on the bar stools, sipping drinks, when Tobin said it.

"I just realized my old friend Aerith Gainsborough missed the wedding," he began. "Now I feel bad. If I had known what was going to happen, I would have invited her. I guess I'll have to beg for forgiveness."

I gave him a sad little smile; he thought I was being empathetic.

But I needed to tell him the truth. He needed to know.

We had just dried off on our lounge chairs when I decided to initiate it.

"Tobin," I began, "we need to go inside. There's something I need to talk to you about."

I could tell right away he became nervous. I thus quickly led him into the beach house we had rented. As soon as the door was closed, I turned around and gently placed my hands on his bare shoulders. I looked him in the eyes; mine were wet.

"Tobin," I began, "about Aerith Gainsborough."

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, "I know I shouldn't talk about another woman on our honeymoon."

"It's okay," I said in a monotone. "Tobin, listen. Aerith couldn't have come to the wedding anyway. Um...something happened to her."

"Something happened to her?" Tobin echoed in a nervous tone of voice.

"She...fought Sephiroth and got rid of his powers, allowing the rest of her friends to petrify him. But he threw her off of him in the struggle. She landed on the ground and did not survive."

For a while, Tobin stood there in silence, like I hadn't even said anything to him.

Then, he opened his mouth.

"C-can we sit down?" he pleaded in a shaky voice.

"Of course," I replied.

As our swimsuits were dry, I led him over to the bed and sat him down next to me.

That was when he started to cry.

I lovingly stroked his bare back, kissed his cheek, and repeatedly told him how much I loved him; it had hit him rather hard.

He cried for two hours. I kept vigil, trying to comfort him as best I could. But, eventually, he became drained.

"I-I think I need to sleep," he stammered.

"Of course," I replied lovingly. "Let's take a nap together."

We climbed under the covers and pulled them over us. Tobin continued to cry; he was quite heartbroken. I held him and kissed him until he fell asleep.

And then I cried. Because he was hurting. I love than man to the moon and back; whenever he hurts, I hurt.

If you read Tobin's memoir, it'll reveal that he and Aerith were friends in high school. They even went to the prom together. I remember helping him get ready.

By the way, Zack does know Tobin took Aerith to the prom. He knows they danced. There's no bad blood between those two.

Those who read Tobin's journal might have noticed that I left something out: the time he and Aerith went to the hotel room and had sex. That's because they didn't. They went to the prom as friends, and that was that. It was one of Tobin's immature teenage fantasies that I gladly forgive him for, since I love him too much.

Back at the bowling alley, Aerith sadly looked at Zack for a bit longer before turning around. There was nothing more she could do.

"Good luck to both of you," she said sadly before walking to the escalator and leaving the alley.

I was wondering whether she would move on, or continued to wallow in her misery for the rest of her...whatever.

LATER...

Tobin and I called it a day with the bowling alley an hour later. We took the escalator up and out into the streets. Fortunately, we were parked nearby.

Tobin drove us home to Cosmo Canyon. I was wearing heels, and I really needed to give my feet a rest. He even carried me up to the apartment.

Did I ever mention how much of a gentleman he is?

And yet, the night was not complete. Only Tobin got a happy ending at the picnic we had while I walked away empty handed. I decided that it was time to remedy that.

Thus, as soon as the door was closed, I grabbed his hand and marched him to the bedroom, my heels practically pounding on the wooden floor as I led him.

The moment we got to the bedroom, I turned around and put my hand on my hip; it was about time I spoke my mind.

"That Sephiroth," I began in an annoyed tone of voice. "He interrupted us. I've had blue balls all day."

"That's too bad," Tobin replied nonchalantly.

For a second, I actually thought he was serious. I was almost ready to yell at him.

Then he reached under my skirt and yanked down my panties; I managed to step out of them without kicking off my heels.

I kissed him hungrily, our tongues meeting and pressing firmly against each other.

Tobin then undid the button that held my green skirt together. A few seconds later, he had de-skirted me and tossed it across the room.

We kissed again, and I let out a moan of pleasure as Tobin squeezed my now-bare bottom with both of his hands.

He then signaled for me to climb into the bed with him, but I shook my head.

"I want to stand," I requested.

Tobin nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. He then grabbed my hips and pulled me forward.

LATER...

Aerith appeared again around one in the morning. Only this time, it was in the Strifes' still-lit bedroom.

Cloud and Tifa were asleep in each other's arms. They were under the covers, but their bare shoulders were visible, revealing to the uninvited guest what had just transpired.

"This is supposed to be my naked body against yours," Aerith lamented. "Only we'd be spooning. I always felt very safe when we spooned."

She then noticed the identical wedding bands on both of their ring fingers.

"So, you married Tifa," Aerith continued. "I'm not at all surprised. I had a feeling you two liked each other. But I'm happy for you. I was at your wedding, even though you didn't see me."

She noticed the wedding picture on their night table. She also noticed a picture of both Tifa and myself in our wedding gowns.

"Our wedding was going to be beautiful," Aerith said. "I would have had a mermaid dress like Cissnei's. Only we would have been married in the church. And it would have been nobody's day but ours."

She scanned their bare shoulders, reminding herself that they just had sex.

"Our sex life was incredible," she lamented. "And better than this. I did things with you that Tifa would have never done. And, unlike me, she doesn't shave down there. Super gross."

She could see that Tifa was smiling, despite being in deep slumber.

"But, I guess what really matters is that you're happy."

She then turned away sadly. There was nothing she could do there, either.

"I love you, Cloud," she said sadly before departing.

SOMEWHERE ELSE...

I was sitting upright at the edge of the bed as Tobin, who was sitting next to me, gently rubbed my shoulders.

I could have fallen asleep, but this time, I was ready for bed anyhow. I had finally ditched my heels, and, although I was still wearing my green tank top, I had also ditched my bra. Amusingly, Tobin was shirtless and in a pair of pajama bottoms while I was completely naked from the waist down.

And if that sounds like too much information, I may as well let you know that I always sleep like that. I call it "cartoon animal style." I've slept like that since I was a teenager. And that time I took a nap with Tobin after he had learned of Aerith's fate, I was wearing only my bikini top. It's just how was comfortable; I could only sleep if I felt "free."

It was never an issue when Tobin and I were just friends, because I always locked my bedroom door (I had the bedroom that's became our bedroom, by the way). But I'll never forget the night of our surprise wedding. I had changed into a tee shirt and jeans after the wedding, and we actually went to a bar before we finally came home. After we got home, we sat on the couch for a bit before I announced I was going to bed. So I went to my bedroom as usual, but didn't shut and lock the door this time. We were married now, and couldn't be sleeping apart. I reached under my shirt and took off my bra, when it hit me; we would be seeing each other naked. That was the part of the night I still hadn't taken into account, as I was all caught up in spending the rest of my life with him. It gave me butterflies as I took of my jeans and panties. I then stared at the door, waiting for Tobin to appear. And for a while, he didn't; I think he was taking it in as well. The moment he finally appeared through the doorway, the first think that popped into my mind was: Oh my God, my vagina's out! Then he turned to face me. I turned around, allowing him to check me out. Sure enough, he checked me out, but he mainly made eye-contact with me. I was so happy he still focused on who I was and not what I looked like.

But, anyway, back to the present. And yes, that massage made me nearly pass out. A few minutes later, we were under the covers, with my head resting on Tobin's bare chest.

"Hey," I suddenly said to him. "We don't have any plans for Valentine's Day, do we?"

Tobin shook his head.

"I've never celebrated it before," he admitted.

"Me neither," I informed him. "I have an idea, though. How would you feel about a double date with Cloud and Tifa?"

"I'm game if they are," Tobin agreed. "I mean, we did get married together, didn't we?"

I smiled, laughed, and kissed him. I think it's wonderful how we're on the same page so often.

"I love you," I said to him before falling asleep.

I never go to bed or leave the house without telling Tobin I love him; nobody is guaranteed tomorrow.

Just asked Aerith, who, thankfully, didn't show up in our room that night.