Casa del Sol

Tifa walked across Costa del Sol, the small heels of her sandals click-clacking on the stony walkway of the coastal town. A huge laundry bag was slung over shoulder and he held her mobile phone in her left hand as she was talked to Barret on the other end of the line.

"I'm surprised myself," she said and stopped at the railing of the bridge that led to their place, leaning against it with her back and looking out towards the sea. "Guess we were lucky. So how are the kids doing?"

"They're out playing at the new playground we've built recently," Barret told her and Tifa felt relieved that the kids were having fun. She knew Marlene wouldn't care either way as long as she was with her dad but Denzel she was never too sure about. Maybe she worried too much about him? He was an active kid, especially now without his Geostigma.

"So how long do you think you'll need?"

"Almost done actually, it's just some cleaning and stocking up on food." They've been hard at work since they arrived and Tifa felt a surge of pride at how good of a job they were doing. Of course, it helped that the place was still in good condition, despite no one having been here for two years now. Part of her had been afraid that the place would have been beset by rats or been trashed by a bunch of drunk kids after an especially rowdy beach party.

"So we should be done by tomorrow."

"I see," Barret said, then yelped, followed by curse that made Tifa REALLY glad the kids were out playing. She couldn't help but laugh in amusement. Barret and a kitchen were never a good combination. With a huff he continued: "Just say the word and I'll bring the kids over. And don't worry about spending a couple of days alone, ya more than earned it."

"Thanks, Barret."

"Don't mention it. Say 'hi' to Spike, will ya?"

Tifa smiled at the nickname. It had started out as a way to insult Cloud but over time it had become an affectionate nickname between the two men. "I will. Tell Marlene and Denzel I said hello."

After exchanging goodbyes, Tifa put her phone into her small purse and resumed her walk back to the mansion.

"Cloud?" she called out as she closed the door, placing the bag that contained freshly washed bed linen on the floor for now.

"Down here," his voice echoed through the house. Following his voice, Tifa headed down into the basement where she found Cloud inspecting the fuse box, dressed in a simple black T-shirt and green shorts. With a satisfied nod he closed it and turned towards her. "Was afraid we might have to replace the fuse, but still looks pretty good in there. Also no old guy sleeping here anymore."

Tifa covered her mouth in an effort to stifle a giggle as Cloud talked about the former housekeeper. The man had never been told that the house was sold and had thus stayed behind and quietly take care of the building. She wagered it wasn't until he noticed that he didn't receive any payment anymore, that he finally did leave. She resolved that would thank him for his work should she ever run into him again.

After heading back upstairs, they put the bed linen on all the beds, then headed into the living room to take a break. As soon as they had sat down, Tifa discarded her sandals, then smoothed out her sundress before lying down, putting her head on top of Cloud's lap and closing her eyes. She released a contented sigh when she felt Cloud's fingers weave through her hair. Barret was deserved this. Cloud and her had been through so much and had spent every day since then to get back to this level of intimacy. They were...happy.

Lazily, she turned around to look at him, a smile on her face. Cloud mirrored the expression with one of his smaller, and sometimes a bit goofier looking ones. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"How I'd love to just stay this way for the rest of the day," she confessed, putting her head in a slightly more comfortable position to emphasize her point. "But, we still need to buy some stuff for dinner. How else am I supposed to use this magnificent kitchen?"

Maybe she was exaggerating a bit, but the kitchen here was hands down better than the one they had in Edge, and the cook inside her wanted to get cracking. The last few meals they've had were from the local restaurants and while the food was good, eating out would become expensive real fast with the prices they've had around here. It made her wonder if she should be charging more back home, even if their menu wasn't as vast as a real restaurant's.

With a small sigh she started to sit up again. No rest for the wicked. "OK, let's go."

After they left the house, Tifa playfully hooked her arm through Cloud's as they walked side by side towards the part of town where they sold local ingredients. Costa del Sol certainly had gotten bigger over the years, most likely due to becoming the only tourist attraction again after the Gold Saucer was shut down.

Buying groceries didn't take long, but Cloud wasn't in the mood to go back just yet, since he had spend the majority of the day inside the house, so they agreed to go to a nearby ice cream parlor, with him leading the way.

Sitting outside the parlor, under the cooling shade of a parasol, Tifa came to realization that Cloud Strife was still a puzzle to her, and probably would remain that way for the rest of their lives, but not in the bad way it used to be. She prided herself for knowing him the best out of all their friends, but she found that there was always something new to learn about the man she loved. Like, for example, that he apparently had a voracious love for ice cream, which made him order the biggest, most exotic sundae on the entire menu. It was filled to the brim with various flavors, fruits, syrup and cute cafe curls that served as decorations. She watched him as he dug in, a look of pure concentration on his face. Apparently ice cream was serious business as well.

Looking down towards her much more modest strawberry sundae, she felt only a teensy bit envious, but still had to smile at the sight of him. Back in Nibelheim they didn't have ice cream. The mountain town just wasn't equipped for that sort of thing, and her first exposure to it had been years ago after she had first arrived in Midgar. Was it the same for him?

"I didn't know you liked ice cream that much," she said in a teasing tone, crossing her legs as she rested her face on her hand.

"Mhm. We haven't really had the chance to eat some together." A guilty look crossed his features and she was reminded of a puppy that was caught doing something it shouldn't. "I...sometimes get some when I'm in the area."

She laughed and gently brushed her foot against his leg in a 'there there' gesture. "It's alright. I just didn't expect it, since it seemed so unlike you. But now that I think about it, it does feels very much like you."

He blushed a little. "In a good way?"

She smiled and took a spoonful of her ice cream. "A very good way."

A moment of comfortable silence passed between them before Cloud spoke up again. "I haven't been to this place for years though."

Tifa looked at him, but didn't pry. He would tell her when he was ready.

"Zack was the first one to introduce me to ice cream, back when I was stationed in Midgar. He took me to a small place in the slums. At first I was confused and asked why we didn't just go to one atop the plate and he just said: 'The stuff up there tastes good but it got no heart to it'," Cloud said in a pretty good imitation of the cheerful SOLDIER, gently rapping his fist against his chest where his heart rested. "It was a small place and only had simple flavors but it tasted good. Later on I went to a place on the plate on my own, and Zack had been right. It lacked heart."

Tifa listened intently, watching him take another spoonful of ice cream and savoring the taste for a moment.

"A year later we were both passing through Costa del Sol and he took me here." he gestured towards the parlor, then knocked his spoon against the glass of his huge cup. "Bought me one of these saying 'Now you're ready for some big boy ice cream. Who knows, maybe you'll take a girl you like on a date here?'"

Tifa watched him, knowing exactly what he meant with 'passing through'. It must have been one of the last happy memories he had of Zack. The look in his eyes still held sadness, and it always would, but now it was mostly replaced by fondness for his fallen friend.

"So, uh—" he cleared his throat. "Does this... feel like a date?"

She was stunned for a second upon hearing his question, but then a smile crept onto her face and she once more brushed her foot against his leg. "Yeah, I think it does."

"Ah. I'm glad."

She giggled. "We kinda skipped that step."

Cloud looked at her, giving her a crooked smile. "We did, didn't we?"

Meeting again after so many years, going on a journey to save the world, recovering their shared past and realizing their mutual feelings among all the chaos had them fall into bed together instead of going the more traditional rout. And now they had a small family. But that was alright, she wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.

They continued to eat their ice cream in peace, Tifa obviously being the first to finish, so she contented herself with watching him enjoy his, happy to have found another piece of the beautiful puzzle that was Cloud Strife. But there was one thing that he said that really piqued her curiosity. "Say, that place Zack took you to, which sector was it?"

Cloud looked up, scratching the back of his head. "I think it was...Sector 3?" he nodded. "Yeah Sector 3."

"Frosty Delights?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Yeah, how did you know?"

Tifa giggled, covering her lips with the back of her hand. Now this was a coincidence! "I also had my first ice cream there."

"No way!"

"Yes way." she nodded. "I was only in Midgar for about half a year at the time, and I didn't want to depend on Dr. Hiragi's kindness all the time, so I was looking for a job. But nobody wanted to hire a 16 year old country girl and I felt a little down. Then I stumbled upon Frosty Delights and decided to finally try some ice cream as a pick me up."

"Wow." Cloud chuckled then became thoughtful for a second. "You know, I've heard something recently."

Tifa tilted her head to the side. "Oh?"

"Mhm. There's a new Frosty Delights in Edge. Same owner too," he said, a small smile crossing his face. "Maybe...we can go there when we get back. You know, just the two of us."

Biting her lip she moved her hand across the table, placing it on top of his, as her eyes locked onto his Mako tinted ones.

"It's a date."

If you enjoy it, consider leaving a review. It's really appreciated :)