"Cute," thought Cloud, seated upon a bed in the Highwind. "Really cute. Wait, where'd that come from?"
It was all he could say to himself as the subject of his mental monologue dried her hair off with a pout, having recently emerged from the ruins of Mideel alongside him. It had been an hour since their friends had brought them aboard the Highwind. Thirty minutes since he had revealed the truth of his past to them all in the airship's conference room. Ten minutes since Tifa had taken another shower in their shared room, still feeling unclean despite the aircraft's far more amenable surroundings compared to the bottom of the Lifestream.
"You okay?" The blue eyed man struggled not to look at her face, the flood of fixed memories having solidified feelings he had carried since his days as her neighbor in Nibelheim. The SOLDIER he had pretended to be had always acknowledged her as more than just a simple friend. Yet he had been held back by the haze of his trauma and his own lack of clarity regarding his feelings. Then, Cloud had been unsure of whether or not she was simply the most trusted of his companions or something more.
"Oh, I'm fine, Cloud. I think I should be asking you that question." Tifa turned to him then, her lips now turned up in a small smile as the carmine of her eyes sparkled with life.
As soon as his azure of his eyes met the red-brown in hers, Cloud knew that the decision had been made. "Hey, I'm your hero, right? Means I've got to watch your back more."
Tifa Lockhart was the one chink in his armor of stoicism and sarcasm, a notion that was only solidified by her beaming face. Obviously elated at his reminder of their vow, the martial maiden walked over to him, gently pulling on his arm. "We going somewhere?" asked Cloud, the gold of his brows knitted in confusion.
"I'm hungry," admitted Tifa. "I think you are too."
"Not really," countered the bladesman, eager for rest. "You can go without me."
Slightly deterred, Tifa tucked her chin before mumbling something beneath her breath. His enhanced hearing had been the only reason her words had reached him. Still, it hadn't been enough for him to truly understand her. "Sorry, Tifa. What was that?"
"I said I just wanted to eat with you," uttered Tifa, her voice shy as her digits danced along his arm. In spite of his realization regarding her, the sword wielder was sure he could stave her off, feeling far too exhausted for anything other than sleep.
Then she bit her lip, shrinking into herself as the hues of her gaze locked with his, her carmine orbs pleading with him to grant her wish.
"Cute," thought Cloud, turning away in the hopes that the rich blonde shades of his hair would hide the red of his features. "Fine. I guess I could eat."
Zack must've been laughing at him from the Lifestream, no doubt.
A minute later, the two would find themselves in the small commissary aboard the Highwind. Seeking sustenance, they were served as soon as they seated themselves at a table. The cook had already prepared something for them, all thanks to Cid's orders to make sure the pair were cared for thanks to their recent ordeal. At a table, Cloud and Tifa ate in companionable silence, all the while shooting glances at one another that hinted at other things.
Already embarrassed enough as things were, it was lucky that a certain kunoichi hanging just overhead decided not to reveal herself. Like the great shinobi she was, Yuffie knew how to blend in with her surroundings, stealth having been an eternal and useful tool of her lineage. Now the nosy little princess had put it to use once more. Not for the pride of her land nor the honor of her people. Instead, she used it to spy on her two friends, seeking to observe any interesting developments in their relationship.
"Now this is interesting," mused Yuffie, attached to the small rafters in the airship's small cafeteria. "Interesting indeed."
And it was. After all, she could count all the times Cloud had smiled on one hand. But observing the early dinner before her, Yuffie concluded that she would need three or for now. Small as they were, the blade wielder's smirks would appear anytime Tifa made eye contact with him, her own lips quirked up as well. As amusing as it would have been to reveal herself, the princess of Wutai settled for committing the scene before her to memory, letting her allies leave untouched by her presence.
"Time for a little gossip," whispered Yuffie, scampering off to spread the word.
And so the rogue did. By night's end, everyone aboard the ship knew what Yuffie had seen, her final stop being Cid and Barret on the ship's main deck.
"Well, finally," grunted the pilot, cigar smoke wafting up from him. "'Bout darn time, right, big guy?"
Barret obviously did not agree, cocking his gun arm. "Where are they now?"
"Hey, stop right there, "dad". Tifa's grown up, okay? She can do as she pleases," stated Yuffie, pointing an accusatory finger at the gunner.
Barret's eyes widened in shock, a retort dying on his lips as soon as he realized the truth behind Yuffie's words. The dark skinned titan was also embarrassed that such a realization had to come at the hands of the youngest and most irresponsible member of their group. "Since when did you get so grown?"
The ninja smiled deviously, drawing curious stares from the two older men. "Since I started a betting pool on them."
"You what?" hissed Cid. "Girlie, I ain't sure that's a real smart idea you got knockin' around in that head of 'yers."
"Same here." Barret then fixed with Yuffie with a glare, one that bounced right off her energetic exterior.
"Oh, come on! Just a little bit of fun before we head off to save the Planet! So, come on…" paused Yuffie, wiggling her eyebrows. "Everyone's in on it!"
Barret shook his head. "No way. Ain't no way. What? You got Vincent on board?"
Yuffie's reply was a mischievous smile.
"No…" A cigarette hit the polished metal floor.
"How?" A fierce and dark skinned face lit up in shock, awaiting a roguish teenager's reply.
"I annoyed him into it. He just coughed up the gil so I'd leave him alone. So, you two in or out? I even got a few bets on when they'll take each other to pound-"
"Woah there, girlie. I'll pay you to stop talkin' right this second. No lady 'yer age should be talkin' about stuff like that."
"Ugh," groaned Yuffie, tossing her head back. "You both sound like my dad! Listen, pay up or don't. That's all I'm saying."
"Fine," conceded her cigar smoking friend. "I'll put up some gil. And I'll take my bet with Vincent. Whatever he said, I'll go with him."
"Really, Cid? Vince is a nice guy and all but I ain't sure this stuff is his thing, y'know?" said Barret, shrugging his shoulders.
"Hey, the very fact that tall, dark and raspy went in at all is a miracle," countered Cid. "Way I see it, sidin' with him is my best bet. Guy's gonna give us a second miracle. Preferably the kind that pays."
"Whatever you say. I've known those too longer than either of you," boasted the large rebel. "I'm winnin' all that gil. Now what's the lowest we can go in for Yuffie?"
"One hundred gil."
And after some mild cursing, Barret and Cid ended up handing over their precious gil to Yuffie. Days later, the ship wide betting pool would be settled. The two men, alongside the rest of their party and the ship's crew, would gather on the main deck just hours after Sephiroth's defeat. Loud cheers rang out, signalling victory for the Planet's protectors. However, it was also the perfect moment for their gambling to come to an end, owing to the lack of a certain blonde swordsman and black haired martial artist.
"The lass said she was gonna help 'im heal up with some Materia," announced Cait Sith, his megaphone turning his voice into a loud boom that rang out across the small crowd gathered. "Yuffie, it's time."
"Gotcha, Cait!" affirmed Yuffie, carrying a sack full of gil. "Welcome, one and all, to the conclusion of the grand game we've been playing! It was but a week ago when I, Yuffie Kisaragi, the Single White Rose of Wutai, discovered the budding romance between-"
"Lassie, move it along," prodded the crowned cat beside her. "They pop in and this whole thing is bust. We need 'ta make this quick."
"Sorry, sorry. All right, so basically we all made bets on when Blondie and Boobs'd get together. Someone's winning tonight and someone isn't. Blah, blah, blah, here's the winner!"
All awaited the answer with baited breath, the deck soundless for but a few moments until…
"The winners are… Vincent Valentine!"
...sounds of cheer, defeat and aplomb erupted.
"And Cid Highwind!"
Followed by more of the same, only louder as Cid howled, stepping forward alongside the gunman to claim his prize. "All right! Nice one, Vince!"
"What the heck'd you two even bet on?" asked Barret, his raised voice cutting through the celebration.
A wicked smile crossed Cid's face as he took a glance at Vincent who only shrugged in return. "Well, guess I'd better tell 'im. So, me an' Vince here put some gil down on the same thing. I asked what he bet on and believe me, it was a doozy. Barret, big man, you know what I'm talkin' about, right?"
"What?" blurted out a confused Barret, eyes directed upwards and brow furrowed in thought.
"You know!" Cid shot back with a laugh. "You and I caught the starlight show when we got back early to take on Sephiroth! Vince and I bet it'd happen before we took on that crazy bastard."
Immediately, the perplexed look upon Barret's face was replaced by an expression of disbelief. "You gotta be kiddin' me! That?"
"Captain, what's he talking about?" said Cid's trainee pilot at the very front of the gathered. "Did they…"
"Hey, kid, I'll leave it up to you to figure it out! But it ain't that hard to put two and two together!" stated the airman. "But it was Vincent here who figured it out first. How'd you know, man?"
Vincent, ever reticent, responded with only one word. "Intuition."
As Cid took the gil from a giggling Yuffie, a howl sounded out, pulling the gaze of everyone in the room to the stairs that led up to their current location. There, a very groggy Red XIII stood. "What is going on, friends?"
"Oh, hey, Nanaki! Just settlin' debts since those two," said Cid, knowing that his four legged friend would catch on. "Are, uh, healin' up. Tifa said she was gonna help Cloud since he took a beatin' this morning."
"Curious," stated Red XIII. "I don't know why Cloud would need additional healing. I tended to his wounds myself after our battle earlier."
A hush descended upon the room again, all present sending knowing glances left and right. And with another roguish grin, Yuffie broke the silence. "All right! New betting pool!"
"Yeah," roared Cid, stepping closer to Yuffie and Cait as Vincent had already vanished. "Take 'yer pick! What're those gettin' up two when they don't got anyone else around! The stuff you do clothes on or the really fun stuff?"
And contrary to the obvious assumption, a very sleepy Cloud and Tifa were both fully clothed. Sharing a bed, both were enjoying a restful slumber until the cacophony of yowls and yells had reached their room. "Oh, what is it now?" grumbled Tifa, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she fumbled for her boots.
"Bets," whispered Cloud as he pulled her back to bed. "They took bets on when we'd get together."
"Wait, how'd you know?" Tifa was shocked, having been completely oblivious to the simple amusement they had become.
With his eyes still shut, Cloud responded with a smirk. "SOLDER hearing. And Vincent told me. He said he'd give me a share of his cut too. I just took him up on it."
The fighter leaned with a single question on her mind. "What'd he bet on?"
And as soon as Cloud was done telling her, she punched him in the shoulder. "So when we…" hissed an angry Tifa. "It was just-"
"Hey, no," cut in Cloud. "I only found out after we beat Sephiroth."
However, carmine orbs were still flared at him, frustration and hurt coursing through them. "I wouldn't do that," emphasized the blue eyed warrior, defending himself as he stared at her. "If it wasn't with someone I actually liked."
"You're sure?"
The sky blue in his eyes softened. "Definitely. I wouldn't be here either if I wasn't serious."
And in her response, the hardness left the soft red of Tifa's eyes as well. "You better be," she teased. "Remember what you promised?"
"Always."
Tifa then settled back onto her pillow, smiling while she did. However, she quickly rose again with another question. "Cloud, if they were taking bets on when we'd get together, what does that make us now?"
Hearing how timid her voice had become, Cloud rose, leaving his answer on her cheek before he fell back into the sheets once more.
"Cloud!" hissed Tifa, the little girl next door in her having replaced the demure and mature lady she had become thanks to his gesture.
"Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking," teased the SOLDIER, his back to her as turned to lay on his side. "By the way, before we came in here, I told Vincent to come by after we had a nap."
"Cloud Strife!"
"You're cute. Really cute. Now good night and get some sleep, Tifa Lockhart."
And that was what Tifa Lockhart did while her cheeks burned, both frustrated and elated by the heroic SOLDIER beside her.
Hello again. =) Please feel free to review and I hope you enjoyed it!
