A/N: This was written for Tifa Harem's gift exchange and is for the wonderful writer Hoegeta! Completed back in December, I am just late to uploading on ffn haha. I hope you all enjoy this fic, as it is my first modern AU for CloTi! Enjoy!
tears in the club
The dress she wears is as red as the candy cane that dangles from her lips. White fur trim wraps around her bosom like tinsel. It makes another appearance at the skirt hems, stopping short just below the curve of her bum.
Cloud doesn't want to look at her. No confirmation can make his heart beat this fast. He'll blame the bass that pounds at his ribcage. It blares from speakers hidden inside the darkened club. Neon red, green, purple, and blue cascade in flickers. One bright light and he'll see her face clearly.
He knew this was a bad idea–the shittiest one yet. Coming here with Zack and his buddies was the first step into hell. He doesn't even like clubbing. Let alone this kind of music.
She strides towards their booth.
Fuck.
The poms attached to the hat bounce. She slips the candy cane from her mouth, raising it to the ceiling. It lights and sparks above the two bottles of liquor she holds. Hennessy and Ciroc.
Cloud's not much of a drinker, but he might get wasted tonight.
Above the hollers, and the rap rhymes with its ad-libs, he hears:
"Isn't that your girlfriend, Strife?!"
"Ex-girlfriend," he grumbles, like he'll be heard by Reno who's leering at her.
Her.
The soft jawline is recognizable, too visible. Dark hair shimmers. His fingers used to tangle in the strands while her body lingered on top of his.
Zack elbows his ribcage. "Shit, I didn't know Tifa worked here! Sorry, buddy."
Cloud merely grunts in response.
Tifa Lockhart.
If she hadn't dumped him 3 months ago then maybe she'd wear that sensual outfit for him …in the privacy of his bedroom. Instead, her appearance is shared with everyone in this sweaty club. They admire and lust, unaware of Cloud's looming dread.
Damn, Tifa's smile is impeccable. Stained rouge lips entice him into drinking her fully. She glances at their group. Body sways in smooth motions, matching their hyped energy. Those eyes of hers reach Cloud's by accident. He immediately looks elsewhere.
They feign ignorance. Strangers, yet again beneath the strobe lights.
When the shots are poured and she's about to leave, Reno yells, "Take a shot with us!"
Glasses clink. Tifa's and Cloud's glasses touch, their fingers brush. He downs his shot fast. Vodka burns his throat better than the heaviness that clamps it. Heartache suppression is difficult. He'd rather be intoxicated with liquor than his brooding thoughts.
As Tifa turns to leave, her smile falters. She tugs the bottom of her dress, as if to hide what may be exposed. Drawn to the lines of her thighs, he remembers the soft spots she begged him to bite.
Throughout the night, alcohol spills into glasses. Blurred bodies grind on the dancefloor. Synths and drums reverberate the walls while heat blisters his chest.
Two shots. Four shots. Or was that nine?
He drinks to forget. Liquor blazes through him whenever he finds her in his peripheral. Glimpses of what could've been. What should've been. The taste of her euphoria is a sin he stopped committing. Remembrance, a cruel joker. What was it that she said?
Emotionally unavailable?
"Strife, you're fucked!"
'I wish you would talk to me'?
"You okay, man?"
He doesn't know how to do that well.
"I'm good," he says, nodding his head on beat. His lips curl in an easy smirk. Loosened up, that's where he's at.
Cloud wanted to make her happy. Get her flustered. He could do that now, if he wanted to…
Tifa's got him fucked up. Whatever. He's feeling good, he guesses.
After rushed conversations about smoking or dancing, feet shuffle, and he's left behind. Peace washes over him until the bounce of a melody cuts through—like a distant memory. He knows this song. Cloud has held her in his arms under similar lights.
Red bathes her illuminated body as she weaves past bodies effortlessly. She dodges hands and clumsy drunks, then emerges in front of him like a beacon of light.
Tifa's eyes are crushed rubies that would've shattered his heart if he were sober. For a moment, her beauty pains him into sobriety.
She wanted him to talk to her right? Be more honest. Cloud could do that. He dons a soft smile, the ones she'd blush over.
Cloud beckons her towards him.
Tifa follows. There's hesitation in her steps but once near, she's caught in the stillness of his gaze.
Shot glasses break from afar. Their song rises in pitch.
They're too close.
"Hey," Cloud finally says.
"What would you like to order?" she yells above the noise, leaning in until she's bent over his body. Her breath, warm. Strands stroke his cheeks. She raises a hand to tuck them away.
But Cloud grasps her wrist, inhales her scent. Honeysuckle, roses.
Tifa, startled, utters his name. "Cloud."
He drops her hand. Cloud's fingers thread through her hair, tucking it behind an ear.
Her breath hitches.
The feeling of her makes his skin sting. God, what the hell is he doing? They've broken up already. Get over it. They're strangers.
Yet, the way she said his name strikes a reverence for what they used to have. It inebriates him.
Tifa's lips part.
Cloud wants to take her back. That thought is desperately vivid. An inch forward, then he'll claim her mouth.
"Cloud," she repeats. "I'm working, please."
"I'm sorry."
"Now's not the time."
"I know."
Once her nails graze his palm, he becomes transparent. To her, he's a fogged piece of glass. She drags his hand from her face. Her wistful smile hurts him in ways he can't describe.
"You're beautiful," he says.
"You're drunk."
"Obviously."
She laughs, pinching the fabric on his neck. "You look good. I bought you that."
"I should've bought you that."
"What?"
"Your Santa dress or whatever."
"Oh."
This is trespassing, he knows this when he grabs her waist. Tifa doesn't wince, nor resist. She falls into his lap easily.
"You like this song, don't you, Tifa?" Strange, saying her name.
"I hate it now."
"Me too."
His fingers skim her thighs. Tifa trembles, closing her eyes. Cloud presses his lips against her neck. He feels drunker than before with Tifa's pulse in his mouth, her intoxicating smell—her breathy sighs.
Cloud loses himself in her.
Tears cling to Tifa's lashes. She holds him close, like he'll leave her in the dark again.
He won't. Not this time.
Hands on her hips, he guides her into a gentle rhythm.
"Tifa, I've missed you," he murmurs.
"I-" Tifa licks her bottom lip. It glistens for him to taste. He edges in about to take her lips within his. However, she pulls back, slipping from his grasp.
Cloud's too weak to oppose.
The song fades, renewed by a tune that doesn't match the broken beat of their hearts. Tifa leaves, unwrinkling her dress as she blends into the crowd. Darkness dawns on them.
It's over, Cloud thinks.