All Things New
Chapter Two: Some Things...
Tifa cringed each time she had to peel her bare feet from the sticky floor.
No one had paid much attention when Marlene opened the fridge to fetch the milk. No one had paid much attention to that small puddle on the floor that was all that was left of the washing machine incident earlier. But when the two met as the girl scrambled back to her seat, everyone couldn't not notice the fountain of milk that erupted as the jug shattered against the floor, turning the kitchen into a dairy river and covering their hostess head to toe in the white liquid.
All the activity and chatter in the room had instantly ceased, lending to a silence that was so pristine even crickets wouldn't have chirped. It seemed like hours, that silence, when in fact it was nothing more than a handful of seconds and sound came crashing back in the form of roaring laughter. Every one of them was having a good laugh at seeing her there, milk lapping at her ankles and dripping from her slender figure, even Nanaki with his low chuckles and Cloud unable to fight the amusement attempting to capture one corner of his mouth.
She'd immediately clutched the front of her soaked shirt and held it away from her to remain halfway decent, searching for Marlene amidst the crowd of laughing but friendly faces and finding the girl giggling insanely. Chances are she'd been devious enough to let go of the milk and run for it since she appeared unscathed.
Breakfast had long since finished with everyone lingering in their conversation and company more than anything, so blustering for a way to save herself further embarrassment, she sputtered, "J-just all of you, out. Go get some air. Something. I can't clean with you underfoot." And even though it was meant to sound indignant, she was fighting a smile of her own when she retrieved a large tub for them to deposit their dirty dishes in.
Cid didn't need any more encouragement, one hand already fumbling in his pocket for a smoke as he announced, "I'm gonna go look for some parts." Yuffie had snorted and produced his cigarettes; apparently Tifa hadn't caught those wandering fingers every time they'd stopped by Cid's pocket. "Damn bi—" the pilot started as he grabbed the box, but was silenced by another rough clap on the back.
"Figure I'll see what those WRO trucks are up to in Midgar," Barret stated.
Almost immediately, everyone besides the sullen pilot decided that was the most intriguing option. After brushing off any last protests about her cleaning up by herself, Tifa washed her hands and turned the faucet of the sink for hot, soapy water to fill one side over the clatter of everyone's dishes making it into that tub and the door banging shut. Trudging to the back room, her laundry was safely transferred into the dryer, and a glance down at her still drenched clothes reminded her that she needed to buy more detergent. She hated the sticky feeling between the soles of her feet and the floor when she headed toward the supply closet for the mop.
It was ironic to switch from saving the world to saving her kitchen floor or thinking of what she needed to put on the grocery list, or wondering why she's had to use a mop she could hardly even find two times in one day.
"Tifa."
With a soft "ouch" she exited the supply closet again, rubbing her head and sending Cloud a look that told him he should have known not to sneak up on her while she's in there. Just another weird thing that had happened twice today.
"Sorry," he immediately added, despite that same want to smile barely softening the line of his mouth. "Let me help." As he reached for the mop, his vibrant glance swept over the still amusing picture of her literally milky appearance, though it quickly dropped again.
Shifting her sticky feet, she let him take the mop, suddenly remembering her modesty again and clutching at the front of her shirt. "I thought you'd have gone with the others," she tried to remark casually, sidestepping him to return to the sink and busying herself with emptying the tub of dishes into the steamy water awaiting them.
"The trucks will still be there later. It's not right for you to have to take care of everything here yourself."
How truly ironic that he should be the one saying that when he's the one who left her alone with the children for months with barely a word. She chose not to point that out.
"You don't need to help me, Cloud." He was sent an overly cheery smile that was meant to last no more than a second, but she couldn't turn away when she noticed the look in his eyes.
"What do I need to do now?"
For a moment, he looked lost. Like that young boy who couldn't save her on the bridge, all those years ago when they were children and the world hadn't seemed so large and empty. What did life hold for him now that it didn't need saving, now that Sephiroth and Kadaj's gang had seemingly been defeated?
Somehow restarting a delivery service seemed a trifle bland.
She hadn't noticed she was actually staring at him until Cloud mustered an unconvincing smile that was his way of trying to say there was no need for concern. But she was always concerned when it came to him, and probably always would be. Maybe he knew that because the attempt lasted only a moment and then he gave up by reaching for the mop again. This time she let him take it. The last thing she wanted was to dredge up anything unpleasant on the first day they could all breathe freely.
"I know what I need to do and that's shower," she managed with a hint of amusement. "If you can clean up down here, I'll go do that."
He nodded with relief and spared himself saying anything more by hurrying to start mopping up.
As she crossed to the stair, she couldn't resist the urge to look back at him. After all, it wasn't every day that the famous Cloud Strife was mopping your kitchen floor, and he'd done it twice already. Maybe she would put him to work as a janitor.
On that note, and with a laugh at the thought, she headed upstairs for that much-needed shower.
An hour later, they were on their way to find the others on a casual stroll to Midgar.
Cloud turned out to be a wonderful dishwasher but terrible at putting them away. Terrible at putting anything away, when it came down to it. He had to be reminded which vegetables went in the fridge, what things stayed on the shelves, and even needed to be told the names of things again.
She'd laughed more times during the entire venture than she could remember in the past month, and though he hadn't shared in the audible mirth, he'd smiled. Really smiled. The kind of smile that she'd long ago thought she'd only imagined ever seeing. It softened his eyes a little, and made it seem like maybe they hadn't lost all of their innocence despite the tragic events of their past.
It was the future she was thinking about now, with the clear sky overhead allowing the sunlight to tickle her cheekbones, and the city rush steadily growing louder as they walked that reminded her about the metropolis finally getting rebuilt.
They'd been sharing a companionable silence throughout the casual journey, so different from their silences before. She was hesitant to break it, especially when a sidelong glance confirmed that he seemed relaxed for once.
"So what are you going to do now?"
That silence fell deeper as he lowered his gaze, a frown flickering across his face before he offered a simple, "I…don't know." She thought she might have ruined his mood, but he mustered another small half-smile. "Just be content, I guess."
But his eyes told her how hard that would be.
"Don't settle for just being content, Cloud. Try and be happy."
His expression betrayed his mild confusion at her words, managing to keep a faint curve to his mouth. She realized that the lost look in his eyes wasn't because he didn't want to be happy, but because he didn't think he knew how.
By now, they could spot their friends in the distance, standing in a scattered cluster near an WRO truck that was quickly filling with debris to dispose of elsewhere. Tifa wondered how many of them felt the same way as Cloud did now, and as she had in the past. What was it really like to be happy?
Before they joined the others, she returned Cloud's smile with a reassuring one of her own. She had the fleeting thought that he needed a hug, but shoved it aside and settled for a gentle, "I'll help you try. We all will."
And when Denzel ran up to tug at both of their hands to show them what he'd found on his "treasure hunt" with Marlene, she knew they already had begun.
The next few days passed in a pleasantly busy hustle and bustle that included everything from a trip to the store for that detergent to a stuffy meeting with Rufus Shinra thanking all of them for their service.
That meeting was actually what had prompted Tifa on a whim to suggest they all head to the store. The tension in the room as Rufus spoke was thick enough to cut with a knife. Cloud looked the most uncomfortable considering he was the center of attention, though she wasn't too keen on the way Rude was staring at her the entire time. She found herself idly wondering if there was something on her face. Cloud must have noticed too, because he kept giving the Turk a funny look, and even managed to send a questioning glance to her before the nonverbal query was interrupted when his attention was drawn back to Rufus.
Even Denzel noticed, because the moment the Shin-Ra group was gone, he'd tugged on her hand and asked if she'd done something to make the bald man mad. Before she could answer, Yuffie had burst into giggles and teased Denzel about boys looking at girls for other reasons, at which point most everyone was laughing save Tifa, who turned scarlet, and Denzel, who made a face, and Cloud, who gave her that same puzzled look he'd managed before.
When the boy opened his mouth to probably ask more, she quickly interjected with a forcibly cheery, "I'm going to the store! Who wants to come?"
In the end, only Barret, Cid, and Nanaki were absent. They went to have another talk with Reeve, who was apparently interested in concentrating some more WRO efforts near Corel, leaving the rest to barrel into the large grocery store down the street from 7th Heaven.
It was a disaster waiting to happen with two children full of energy, an equally boisterous ninja with loose fingers, an absent, distracted celebrity, and Tifa with the list of things she actually needed to concentrate on buying. Within a few minutes of entering the shop Cloud had been swarmed by people wanting his autograph, wanting to touch him, and one very bold young woman who wanted a kiss. Rather cruelly, the rest of the group had voted to let him fend for himself.
Marlene decided her stumble the other day warranted a repeat performance, and ended up crashing into a display of bread loaves that left most of them crushed and unmarketable. The shop owner was furious, scolding Tifa right then and there until he was red in the face and Marlene and Denzel looked like they were either going to cry or kill him. Yuffie finally stepped in and offered to pay for all the damaged goods to everyone's shock and surprise, until Cloud was finally free of his fans to come over and find out what happened. Of course, the minute the owner was informed these were Cloud Strife's friends, he apologized and scurried away.
But the ordeal had taken its toll and the rest of the trip was curtailed with Tifa picking and choosing only the most necessary items with Yuffie's "help," while Marlene and Denzel waited outside with Cloud. Tifa couldn't blame him for volunteering to take them across the street; already more people were lining up to try and get a word in with him.
"I think I should head home."
Tifa glanced up from the list with a frown that she barely managed to curb into only mild disappointment. "Why? Not because of that bread thing."
"No, but when I offer to pay for anything that probably means I need to go back. Rediscover my roots." Yuffie had said it with a cheeky grin that made Tifa wonder if the ninja would ever come to think of stealing as wrong.
And so when they finally headed back, Yuffie packed her things – and probably some "mementos" from the adventure – and bounced out the door back to Wutai. Nanaki wasn't long in following suit, taking his leave but not before giving everyone his respects and receiving several warm scratches behind the ears in return.
More days passed in a comfortable blur as everyone fell into a routine, albeit a temporary one. Barret kept meeting with Reeve, Cid kept working on his ship, the kids kept getting into trouble. Even Cloud seemed like he was getting better, until one night, as Tifa left the kids' bedroom after tucking them in, she almost bumped into him in the hall.
He was massaging his left bicep, flexing it as if testing it. She'd dropped a glance to it, then arched a brow to him in unspoken question. The Geostigma should have been completely gone.
"I'm fine," were his first words, serving to reassure her slightly. It was his next that sent her heart into a slump that landed it on the floor. "I'm not used to living without pain."
She'd smiled, told him he would be fine, had tried to believe it. But in his eyes she saw the truth.
He was going to leave again.
It was only a matter of two days before she saw him there, standing just inside of the back door when she took the laundry down early that morning. He'd known she'd be coming down to do it, had known she'd be alone. He'd waited to say goodbye until no one could stop him from going, because he knew she wouldn't.
"Cloud..." It was the only protest she could make, and even then it was halfhearted. Too much and she thought she might cry. Crying was the last thing she wanted to do.
"I just need to figure out some things, Tifa. I'll be back. I promise." The duffel bag sitting at his feet almost screamed otherwise at her, but she averted her gaze to the floor.
That's what prompted those steps forward of his, one gloved hand rising to cup her chin in friendly gentleness when he raised her eyes to his own. "When I come back, we can be a family. I promise."
More promises. More waiting. More of him being gone. She didn't want any of it, but it was what she was given.
She took it with a faint smile.
Releasing his hold on her jaw, he had let his hand fall to her shoulder instead, cradling the curve there until after another moment of seeing her on the verge of distraught, his fingers trailed around her back to circle her shoulders in a one-armed hug. It was all he could offer besides words.
When everyone else came down for breakfast, there was barely a trace that Cloud had ever been there. The only remnant that remained was her false smile.
Fin.
A/N: The title of this chapter came from the little saying "some things never change" just as a side note that I thought some people might find interesting, especially in light of chapter one's hopefulness that everything had, in fact, changed.
Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful encouragement! I had no idea this fic would be received so well right off the bat, but it definitely inspires me to write more. It's a bit slow-going right now, but hopefully not too slow and even perhaps worth the wait? Thank you again. I love comments and critique. :)