Chapter Fifteen

Convalescence

Time seems to slow in front of his eyes, leaving the canvas in front of him a frozen still life of horror and disbelief. All of the color seems to fade from his vision, leaving everything gray and bleak and black and white.

Except for the blood.

Tifa's blood.

It's pooling around her like a lazy river, the thick liquid seeping under the grooves of his tires. Cloud suddenly feels cold, so cold it is as if his skin has melted away and his bones are exposed to the elements. He becomes so numb that he doesn't even realize the way that he reacts to the scene that explodes in front of him, his body lunging forward with his sword in front of him blade-first. He cuts down the goon who stands perpendicular to his vehicle with a series of crossed slashes that he finds himself unable to control, ignoring the guttural screams and the way that blood geysers into the air from severed limbs.

The abandoned lot falls silent, and Cloud's vision narrows. All he can see is her, laid up against the side of his car with her arm draped over her belly, the center of her chest marred with a dark wound that leaks maroon-colored blood. His throat tightens to the point of pain and tears burn the corners of his eyes, and dragging his blood-tainted sword against the concrete behind him, Cloud runs in Tifa's direction and falls to his knees, crouching at her side and scooping her right into his arms as he drops his sword.

She's breathing, slow, gentle puffs that are strained and difficult but exhaust her chest nonetheless. Her brow is pinched with the effort that it takes her body to hold on to the last threads of life, but the rest of her body is limp and lifeless, as if it has already given up.

"Tifa!" he shouts, confusion, disbelief, and anger all swirling through his head in a messy jumble at once.

This is all his fault, he internally screams. He failed to do what he'd promised, what her father had ordered him to do. What he'd wanted to do, he realizes now, going back at least fifteen or more years to when they had just been kids.

How had Tifa ended up here? Why didn't she tell him what was going on? Why had she tried to keep these things from him, after he'd reassured her that she could trust him, after they had come so far in their relationship after years of separation and months of open distrust? He had thought that what they had meant something, but now, he realizes…

Sirens in the distance shatter his thoughts, and Cloud knows that Public Security has been dispatched to the slums, made aware of the melee and disorder that has occurred here. If it's true that Rufus is as involved in Corneo's mess as Cloud believes him to be, it is likely they are on their way here to clean up the evidence of his involvement and wipe out any trace of what has happened here.

"Please, Tifa!" he tries again.

Maybe it's her fault, he thinks, his anger escalating into an unreasonable place. She is stubborn, willful, and impulsive. She acts on emotion and doesn't take the time to assess the risks of things before she took action. And she has demons, ones that she'd shared with him and ones that she obviously hadn't.

Maybe he doesn't know her at all, after all.

Maybe he doesn't deserve her.

Cloud shakes Tifa, tears brimming his eyes and clouding his already fading vision. He stares down at her as she remains unresponsive in his arms, her head tipping forward and greeting his shoulder. She lets out a soft moan, letting him know that she's still alive, but watching the blood continue to spread from the thick wound in the center of her chest, he knows that she might not be for long.

He presses his lips to her forehead, hearing a sob break away from his throat. It chokes him up a little, and the tears finally spill, lining his cheeks. Tifa falls further lifeless in his arms, and despite the blood that covers them both, Cloud clutches her even closer to him and holds her tight, trying not to hurt her but the strength in his arms unrelenting even so.

"I'm sorry," he whispers into the cool, black silk of her hair that's tangled around him and in his bloodstained hands. Her breathing has thinned, and it sounds ragged, Cloud dragging his lips across the flesh of her temple in an attempt to stir her. But her body is only weakening in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," he repeats. "I was supposed to protect you."

There's no response. The darkness around them seems to grow in weight, descending upon him until he feels the pressure collapsing him into the concrete he's crouched on. The blood from Tifa's wounds is running a river between the cracks and grooves below them, and the idling roar of his car's engine behind him has begun to fade, nothing but his own failures crowding his brain as he rocks back and forth, refusing to ever let her go.

A pair of black sedans pull up in front of him, tires riding the curb of the lot just beyond. Their windows are tinted and dark, and their headlights have been dimmed, only the shine of the street lights and the mako reactors lining the city bouncing color off of their gleaming painted surfaces. Cloud reaches a hand to his right, finding the hilt of his sword at his side. His arm is weak with pain, but nonetheless, he lifts it, holding it up in front of him as he hears the windows roll down and sees the barrels of rifles and semi-automatic weapons poke from behind the glass.

"I'm sorry I let you down," he whispers, gently brushing his fingers over the soft curve of her cheek, her skin soft but cool under his gloves. Carefully, he lays Tifa back down, aiming not to worsen her injury. And then he lifts his sword, holding it up to shield them both just as the gunfire breaks out.

The bullets tear in every direction, and when the barrage momentarily halts, Cloud pushes up to his feet, the rage that's built in him surging into a strength and violence that is unimaginable, even for him. Four men step out of the vehicle, two on each side, brandishing their weapons as they reload. But Cloud can only see the color red, a deeper hue than even Tifa's blood that now paints his jacket and his shirt.

He's never felt a fury like this, and with a shout that originates from somewhere deep inside of him, he drags his blade behind him and runs forward in attack.

The Hardedge is a sword that Zack had helped Cloud to pick out from a Wutain arms dealer who was trafficking guns to Lockhart's crew. It is a broad-edged greatsword that's point fans out wider than its cross-guard, leaving it capable of doing wide swaths of damage in one movement where a typical blade could perhaps only achieve half of that.

So damage is what he does.

Their bullets whizz past him, some grazing him so closely that their tear the leather of his jacket and even slice open his flesh. But he ignores it all as he charges in, his arms looping and twirling and raising high above his head as he attacks, cutting across his assailants in a flurry of melee attacks until their screams are melding into the sounds of the night and they are collapsing all around them. It seems that the fight goes on for hours, but it is all over in less than a minute. When it is all said and done, Cloud stands there, his chest heaving and burning, his skin smarting where he bleeds and sweat pooling into his eyes, the adrenaline surging so high that he is numb to it all.

The escalating sounds of sirens in the distance pull Cloud out of the trance of fury he's been plunged into. There is a bloodbath all around him, and he is wearing more than a fair share of the evidence. Not to mention the bodies that litter the inside of Corneo's mansion, most of whom had fallen under his blade as well. Once Public Security arrives, it will all be over for him.

And more important than anything is Tifa.

Cloud shoves all of this to the back of his mind, turning and stashing his sword in the backseat of his car. He immediately runs back to Tifa, kneeling at her side and leaning over, his eyes traversing her form before he dares touch her again.

She's still breathing, he realizes with a shaking sense of relief. But her breaths are labored and flimsy, and a thin trail of blood has escaped the corner of her mouth. She's likely bleeding internally and if she doesn't get help soon, she won't make it.

Cloud swears under his breath, carefully lifting Tifa into his arms. Taking her to a hospital is a dangerous option. The circumstances of her injury will raise questions and bring heat on both her and her father, not to mention Cloud himself. And the hospitals are terrible in Midgar. They rarely use curative magics and rely on traditional treatments, and in Tifa's case, emergency surgery and bandagings might not be enough.

He gently settles her into the passenger seat, lowering the setback so that she can lie comfortably without aggravating her wounds. He arranges her and then shrugs out of his jacket and then his hoodie, pressing the softer fabric into the wound on her chest to help staunch the bleeding. Tifa moans at this, and even though it is a painful, gut-wrenching sound, to Cloud, it gives him hope because he knows that she is still alive.

He runs to the driver's side and gets into the car, triggering the ignition and pulling the sedan away from the curb. He can hear from the sirens behind him that Public Security is turning the corner, and he has to get out of here before they catch sight of him and start to tail his vehicle.

His heart racing and his blood chilled, Cloud pulls out onto the road that leads out of Wall Market and toward the freeways that interconnect all of the sectors. His tires hum against the asphalt and his engine whirrs as he floors the pedal, the leather of his gloves squealing as he tightens his grip on the steering wheel.

"Fuck!" he swears out loud as he weighs his options. Exasperated, he fumbles into his pocket for his PHS, calling Zack and tossing the device on the dashboard as the bluetooth connects.

"Cloud!" Zack shouts as soon as he answers. "Where the hell have you been, man? I've been calling you for the last hour! Why'd you leave me at the Honey Pot like that?"

Cloud hadn't even thought to check his PHS for missed calls after he'd left the Honey Pot to tail Tifa to Corneo's, he'd been so consumed with panic and rage. But it's a moot point now, and he shakes his head, disregarding Zack's query.

"Zack, Tifa is hurt real bad," he responds, dismayed at the way his voice breaks when he speaks. "She - she's been shot. There was a shootout at Corneo's, and Tifa was hit. I can't take her to a hospital, or it'll expose -"

"Wait," Zack interrupts. "Did you say Tifa was shot? At the Don's?"

Cloud resists the urge to swear, rounding a bend as he enters the freeway. "That's what I said," he responds brusquely. "Rufus was there, and they were plotting on Lockhart. They were using Tifa as bait, and she -"

"It makes so much sense now!" Zack interjects with a shout.

Cloud feels the temperature of his blood rise as his anger soars. "What the hell are you talking about? Tifa needs medical attention now, Zack. She might die!"

The panic in his voice is so thick and heavy that it frightens Cloud himself. Zack's excitement on the other end seems to simmer, and he sighs almost consolingly before he speaks again.

"Don't worry about it for now," he responds. "Just meet me at Aerith's house, right now . I'll fill you in when you get here."

"But Tifa-"

"Aerith is a healer," Zack cuts him off. "Look, you can't tell anyone that. But she can heal without materia or curative magics. She'll take care of Tifa. Just get her here, and take the back roads if you can. Public Security is crawling all over the place and I can't talk about it over this line."

Cloud grunts an agreement, finally disconnecting the PHS. Aerith is a silly girl, but if she can heal Tifa's wounds, he isn't about to argue. Still, something in Zack's tone and his words is only leaving him with a greater sense of dread.

At least, he thinks, Sector Five isn't far from here. Glancing over at Tifa and catching the uneven rise and fall of her chest, he grips the wheel tighter and turns in the direction of Sector Five.

She has to be okay.

The drive takes an eternity, but when Cloud pulls up in front of Aerith's home, he glances at the dash and realizes he's only been driving for fifteen minutes. He's checked on Tifa intermittently the entire time, occasionally reaching over to the passenger side to gently caress her cheek or squeeze her hand. He talks to her, recommitting promises and lamenting apologies, anything to keep her lucid and awake.

Anything to keep her alive.

Aerith and Zack are standing on the front porch when he arrives, and for some reason, the sight of two friends after a night spent in the den of enemies is welcome and relieving. They both jog over to the car when he parks, and Zack pulls open the passenger side door, leaning in and peering down at Tifa with wide, sky-blue eyes.

"Holy Shiva!" he exclaims.

"Don't crowd her!" Aerith scolds, pulling him out of the way.

Already feeling mildly irritated, Cloud climbs out of the car with a slam of the door. He comes around to the other side of the car, practically shoving Zack out of the way.

"Cloud, carry her inside carefully ," Aerith orders. Even though she is stern, Cloud can see the way that her bottom lip trembles with fear at the sight of her best friend so badly wounded. "We are going to take her to the guest bedroom. I'll heal her there. Mom is already asleep, so let's try to keep it down, okay?"

"Yeah," Zack agrees as Cloud leans into the car to carefully scoop Tifa up into his arms. " Please don't wake her up."

Aerith slaps him on the shoulder.

Cloud ignores their exchange and follows them wordlessly into the house, cradling Tifa's body close to his chest. The night is still aside from a gentle breeze and the distant chirp of cicadas, lilies and foxtails leaning in their direction from the garden just beyond. He clings to the warmth that still emanates from her body, hanging on to every puff of air she expels.

Please, Tifa, he pleads silently. I can't lose you .

It is quiet and dark inside, and Aerith holds a finger to her lips to remind them to keep their voices down. Cloud nods as she leads them to the stairs, and when Zack moves to follow, she stops him with her hand on his chest.

"Nuh uh, Mister," she insists. "I don't need you stomping around up there while I work. You wait right here and we'll be back before you know it. Heat up some coffee for us too, okay? It looks like we all are going to need it after tonight."

Zack pouts, and despite the turn of events of the night, the sight of it almost makes Cloud crack a smile. "Fine," he assents, turning away to the kitchen.

Aerith curls her finger at Cloud. "Come on, you."

He follows her up the narrow, wooden staircase, and she takes him to the first bedroom on the right. There's another right beside it, which he guesses is Aerith's room. Down the hall is a larger master bedroom where it appears that Elmyra sleeps.

Aerith pushes the door open and enters the guest room, leaving space for Cloud to enter. She closes the door and then gestures to the bed against the wall.

"Hold on," Aerith says.

He watches as she goes to the bureau on the other side of the room and pulls out a folded stack of towels. She lays them down on the bed, covering all of the sheets and pillows. While she works, Cloud looks around the room, taking in the antiquated but expensive decor and the way that moonlight spills in through the uncurtained window.

"Lay her down, okay?" Aerith finally dictates.

Cloud nods and does so, gently lowering Tifa to the center of the bed. Some of the blood has dried, but most of it is still sticky, instantly staining Aerith's towels. He realizes that this was good thinking on her part.

He's reluctant to let go of Tifa, to separate her from his arms. But slowly, he pulls away, stepping to the side. Her expression is still pained, but she is breathing, and that much at least gives him some solace.

"Oh, Tifa," Aerith hums as she kneels at the side of the bed. She brushes Tifa's dark bangs out of her face, and for some strange reason, Cloud feels his heart crumple in a way he isn't quite used to.

He watches as Aerith closes her eyes, clasping both hands together in front of her heart. She whispers a few words that Cloud can barely hear and wouldn't understand if he could. A soft green glow floats over Tifa, almost like a blanket, and it hovers there for a moment before it begins to sink, deeper and deeper into her skin.

Fascinated, Cloud watches as the wound in her chest begins to close. A lead-colored bullet, stained with bright red blood, pushes out of the wound and rolls down the hill of her rib cage. It tumbles from the bed and falls to the floor, skidding to a halt in front of Cloud's boot.

He bends down and picks it up, rolling it between his fingers before he clutches it in his fist and squeezes, fresh anger and rage returning to him.

The glow begins to fade, and Aerith opens her eyes. She gets back to her feet, brushing off her skirt. Cloud stares intently at Tifa, and although her wound is healed, she doesn't move and she doesn't awaken.

Her breathing though, he notices, has seemed to even out.

"She just needs to rest for a bit," Aerith states as if she can read his thoughts.

Cloud watches Tifa a moment longer, resisting the urge to reach out and touch. Instead, he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly and turns to Aerith.

"How can you do that?" he asks. "Without any materia?"

Aerith doesn't meet eyes with him, just keeps looking at Tifa. She folds her hands in front of her, silent for long moments before she sighs and then turns towards the window.

"Nobody but Zack knows this," Aerith said. "Not even Tifa. But… my birth mother was one of the Ancients. The last one, actually."

Cloud narrows his eyebrows. He remembers reading about the Ancients in school, but they are an extinct race, no different than the dinosaurs or the dodo bird. This is surprising and a little difficult to believe, to say the least.

"Really?" he replies.

Aerith shrugs, then laughs ruefully. "It doesn't really matter. I'm not as strong as her or any of the Ancients, for that matter. But that's why I wanted to study medicine. I just… I just want to help in any way I can."

Cloud crosses his arms over his chest, turning back to watch Tifa. She moves slightly in her sleep, then lets out a heavy sigh. It makes his chest tighten.

"Why haven't you told Tifa?" Cloud asks, almost accusingly. "Isn't she your best friend?"

Aerith turns back to him, and the look she gives him is almost sad. "I didn't want her to worry over me too much. Tifa worries about everyone. Jessie and I call her the mom of our group. If she knew I was different, well… she might be even more overprotective."

Cloud considers this. Even as a child, Tifa had always had a big heart. He couldn't remember a time when she'd said no to anyone, when she wasn't helping other people or offering her time or generosity to whomever she could. She may have been born wealthy and without need, but she had always been kind and had always cared for everyone other than herself.

He realizes, then - perhaps for the first time - that he's truly misunderstood her for years.

"Anyway," Aerith goes on, stepping towards the bed. "Tifa really needs to rest. And I want to wash her up and get her into some clean clothes. You should join Zack downstairs, make sure he isn't setting fire to Mom's kitchen while I finish up here."

Cloud isn't in the mood to leave Tifa's side. He stands theorem unwilling to move.

"Go on, shoo," Aerith waves her hands at him. "I've got to undress her."

"I've seen her naked before," he deadpans, shifting his weight as he glares at Aerith.

"Cloud!" Aerith scolds.

Cloud sighs and unfolds his arms, offering a final glance where Tifa lies. He really doesn't want to leave her, but seeing the stern look on Aerith's face, he knows she isn't taking no for an answer and there is no point arguing. Besides, he does have to catch up with Zack.

He makes for the door, turning the handle. But as he pulls the door open, he turns back to Aerith.

"Aerith?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

She nods and smiles, then turns her attention fully to Tifa. Cloud watches for a moment as she carefully fusses and dotes over her, and he realizes that as reckless and annoying as Aerith might be, she truly does love Tifa.

Reluctantly, he leaves the guest bedroom, stopping in Elmyra's bathroom to clean up some of the blood and grime that's accumulated on his skin and clothing. He then descends the stairs, finding Zack parked on the living room couch with his feet up. He's sipping a beer, one arm crossed behind his head.

Cloud eyes him. "Did you make coffee?"

Zack waves him off, then gestures to a case of beer on the floor. "Not worth it," he rejoins. "You're gonna need one of these."

Cloud rolls his eyes but sits next to Zack on the couch, grabbing one of the beers and popping the cap. After the night he's had, he figures alcohol will probably serve him better than caffeine.

"How is she?" Zack asks.

Cloud stares into his bottle, his mind flashing with images of the way Tifa had been shot and the way she'd gone down in a heap, blood gathering and staining the asphalt. He shakes his head.

"I think… she's gonna be okay," Cloud says. It feels good to say those words, he thinks, and longingly, he glances at the stairs, badly wanting to be with her.

"Told ya," Zack quips with a smirk.

"I didn't know about Aerith," Cloud responds.

Zack's expression grows serious, and he pulls back a swig of beer. He's ponderous for a moment, and then finally, he looks at Cloud.

"Look, you can't tell anyone," he says. "Shinra has been trying to find someone with her bloodline for years. As much as I can't stand her old lady, Elmyra has kept them off her trail."

"Shinra?" Cloud repeats, perplexed.

Zack waves a hand in the air. "It doesn't matter," he says. "It's not nearly as important as what's going on with them now. We got much, much bigger problems."

Cloud leans forward on his knees, leveling his gaze with Zack's. Cloud has always just been a driver. He's never gotten involved in the nitty-gritty of the organization's dirty work the way that Zack has as a street soldier, and the more he's become involved ever since escorting Tifa, the more he's unsure of where he fits in all of this.

"Yeah?" Cloud prompts, waiting for the inevitable shoe to drop.

"It's about Lockhart."

"Spit it out, Zack," Cloud bites out.

Zack sighs and gets to his feet, and Cloud can tell from his sudden, nervous burst of energy as he begins pacing the room and swinging his arms back and forth that whatever he is about to reveal is serious. "The President was found dead tonight," Zack finally blurts. "Not long after we got to the Honey Pot. And Lockhart has been arrested for his murder."

Cloud blinks, drinking this all in. He thinks over everything that was exchanged between Corneo and Rufus Shinra, trying to piece together every sentence, to draw a connection.

"My father won't have much say in such things soon, I'm afraid. But it is neither here, nor there. I assure you any way that your businesses choose to grow throughout Midgar will be left unimpeded."

"So what is the plan for Lockhart?"

"Once Lockhart learns that his daughter is on a one-way boat to Wutai, he'll be vulnerable and ripe for the picking. I can't reveal my methods, but he'll be dead before the night is through and all of his property and assets will be seized."

"He's being framed," Cloud states blithely as it dawns on him.

Zack rolls his shoulders, then picks up his beer and drinks again, standing right in the middle of the floor. "And Rowan disappeared," he adds to the malady.

"Rasberry?" Cloud repeats, turning this and the night he helped the underboss dispose of a corpse over in his mind.

"The whole organization is in chaos, Cloud," Zack grouses, setting his hands on his hips and shaking his head back and forth. "A bunch of the top bosses who worked under Lockhart are in hiding or turning state's evidence to Public Security. Lockhart is sure to be executed and now everyone is trying to save their asses. That's why I've been laying low here all night."

Cloud lets this information simmer in the back of his mind. He finds it incredible how much has unfolded in the space of one night. He lets the dots connect, and he turns back to Zack.

"I think Rufus had his father killed," Cloud says. "Or killed him himself."

Zack stops pacing. "Why do you say that?" he asks, an eyebrow askew.

Cloud puts his beer down and leans forward again. "Rufus and Corneo were planning to use Tifa as bait to take her father out. The deal was that Corneo would acquire Lockhart's territory plus some, and of course, Shinra would benefit. But Corneo was concerned about the President."

"And?" Zack presses.

Cloud looks down at the floor, shaking his head. "Rufus said his father wasn't going to be a concern much longer. When - when Tifa and I broke out of Corneo's mansion, Rufus must have pivoted strategies and used his father's murder to take Lockhart down a different way."

"The slimy son of a bitch!" Zack shouts.

Cloud drops his head in his hands. He's never been Brian Lockhart's biggest fan, but this has taken things to a whole new level.

And he can only imagine how Tifa is going to react when she finds out.

"Shit," Zack swears, running both hands through his thick, dark hair.

They both are at a loss for words, and Cloud sits there as Zack begins to pace again. He tries to think about what they can do, but every solution that enters his mind seems more dangerous and stupider than the last.

He's about to tear his own hair out when Aerith appears in the stairwell, wiping her hands off on a washcloth. Her expression is soft, and she glances right at Cloud.

"Tifa's awake," she says. "And she's asking for you, Cloud."

The moonlight is casting silvery highlights on Tifa's hair when Cloud enters the room again, filtering a pale glow on her porcelain skin. But her eyes are what strikes him, ruby gemstones that glitter under the night lights beyond. They are trained on the door and waiting for him, and when they find him, they light up as if they've made the most important discovery in the world.

"Cloud," Tifa coos, sitting up on her elbows.

"Don't get up," Cloud scolds her, instantly at her side. He sits on the edge of the bed, leaning over her. She smiles weakly, but she doesn't back away.

"You're here," she says.

"Of course I'm here," Cloud affirms, unable to avoid the way he pouts at her. She's lying there under the covers now, wearing a t-shirt that Aerith has given her. Her hair has been brushed to the side and she's all cleaned up, and the color that had drained from her skin has seemed to return. "I would never leave you, Tifa. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

Tifa hesitates for a moment, looking away from him and staring down at the bedsheets. She pulls at a loose thread with her fingernails, then finally responds.

"I'm… okay," she tells him. "Aerith healed me. But… you saved me."

She at last looks up at him. Cloud swallows, feeling his heart bellyflop when their eyes meet.

"Tifa…"

"Thank you, Cloud. And… I'm sorry."

To this, Cloud frowns, scooting closer to her on the bed. "Sorry?" he repeats. "For what, Tifa? Those thugs shot you. I thought I was gonna -"

"For not listening," she answers. "For not telling you the truth. For not trusting you with it all."

For some reason, this freezes Cloud where he sits. He stares at her, but he's too numb to respond. It's as if all of his worst fears have come true, the realization that he's never really gotten to know her or been close to her the way he's always wanted to, that he's blundered it all.

"What do you mean, Tifa?" he asks, shaken by the way his voice cracks.

Tifa sighs and lays her head back on the pillow, looking off to one side, her eyes downcast. "Cloud… all my life I've had to figure things out on my own. Even when Mama was alive, there were things I couldn't ask her, things we never talked about. And once she was gone… it only got worse. Papa never talks to me, never tells me anything, except to be careful or not go into that Sector, or to come right home. No one would ever tell me the truth… so I grew to not trust anyone."

She closes her eyes and rests her palm over her chest, right where she had been shot.

"I've been trying to find out what happened to mama for so long, and when I started to get answers… I didn't want to get you involved. I didn't want another person I cared about to be in danger. And I didn't want you to be angry with me or hate me for what I was doing."

Cloud's eyes widen, and he can't stop himself from reaching out for Tifa's hand, resting his atop hers, just above her heart. "Tifa, hate you? I could never hate you. I've loved you since we were little."

That admission flies out of him like a bullet, and his emotions are so out of control that he can't even stop it. It spills out and it sits there, Tifa's eyes widening as she looks back at him, his heart pounding as he realizes what he's just done.

Where the fuck did that come from?

"Cloud…"

"I'm sorry, Tifa," he fumbles, pulling back. "I don't know what I was trying to-"

He tries to pull his hand away, but Tifa grabs it, holding onto it tight. She pulls him towards her, her eyes glassy as she looks up into his.

"I love you too, Cloud," she tells him. "Always."

His cheeks redden and he isn't quite sure what to say. He wasn't prepared for his own feelings, much less hers. The only thing he can do is give her a little smile, and when she returns it, she slides back on the bed towards the wall, leaving a wide space with the covers open.

"Join me?" she asks in a small voice.

Cloud frowns. "I'm filthy, Tifa."

"I don't care."

He can't help but smile again, and he nods, not one to deny Tifa Lockhart anything she wants. He takes off his jacket and then his shirt, leaving them strewn across a chair. He kicks out of his boots, then hesitates when his hands drop to the buckle of his belt.

"C'mon," Tifa encourages him, looking up at him with a goading little smile.

Cloud blushes and turns away, stepping out of his pants and leaving them with the rest of his clothes. He turns back to her then, sliding under the covers and slowly curling up close to her, wearing just his boxers.

Tifa immediately clings to him, wrapping her arms around him and threading her legs through his. She clutches him, warm and desperate, smelling faintly of her vanilla perfume and the iron in all of the blood she'd lost. But she's soft and real and alive , and he holds her back, gently but tight enough to feel secure that she's there.

In the back of his mind, he thanks Aerith and Zack again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he whispers when the rhythms of their breathing begin to match. He's rubbing her back, his fingers absently tangled in her hair.

"I am now," she purrs against his chest.

Cloud thinks he is satisfied with that, ready to fall asleep and deal with the aftermath of the night's events when the sun rises. But just as he is closing his eyes, Tifa leans up, pressing her lips to his in the first kiss they've shared since the night before.

Even though he knows they both need the rest, he can't help the easy way he falls into the heat of her lips. The kiss reels him in and his arms tighten around her, her leg riding up higher around his waist as she locks his body against hers, her fingers curling into his hair.

"Tifa," he murmurs into her mouth.

"I missed you," she rejoins.

Cloud growls as she twists her body against his, soft breasts pressing into his chest. Her hips wind circles, sending searing pain racing through his body as his erection stiffens. Her legs are bare and she is wearing nothing but her panties under Aerith's shirt, and it takes everything in his power not to flip her into the center of the bed and tear them off of her.

Instead, he controls himself, letting them nip at one another's lips before he pulls back a bit. "Tifa," he breathes again, trying to gather his bearings. Goddess, he'll never get tired of the way her name sounds when it rolls off his tongue. "You need to rest. C'mon, baby, go to sleep."

His voice has taken on that dreamy, lullaby quality that it does only around her, and all it does is further spur her on. She grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him over her, crushing their bodies together as she raises her hips against his center.

"I need you," she pleads.

Cloud is defenseless against a begging Tifa, and his body is just as desperate as hers. She kisses him again and he relents, their tongues melding and sending heat flooding his entire body. Even though she has been healed, he is mindful of his weight on her body after such a grave injury, and he slides back again to give her a little room.

"Okay," he agrees when Tifa begins to attack his jaw and then his throat with kisses and bites, one sly hand slipping between their bodies to tug at the waistband of his shorts. " Okay , baby, I got you."

She purrs a grateful sound and lays back on the pillow, her lips shining and wet from their kisses. Cloud admires her for a moment, the way the stars shine on her from beyond the window, the sparkle and the glow they inspire in her skin and hair.

Placing soft kisses across her throat and clavicle, Cloud slides out of his boxers, then carefully reaches under the sheets to pull her panties off. He leaves her shirt on, sliding his hands underneath to feel the soft, warm curves of her body. He is carefully as he sweeps over her chest, Tifa gasping lightly at his touch. He squeezes her breasts and thumbs the rings in her nipples, and she tosses her head from side to side, her thighs widening under the sheets.

"Mmm," she sighs.

Cloud kisses her again, dropping a hand between her thighs. His fingers slide through the heat of her folds, finding her wet and warm. He circles her clit and taps it lightly, and Tifa swings her leg over his hip, forcing their bodies to face each other side by side again as she clutches him in her arms and deepens their kiss.

"Please," she whines, nibbling his bottom lip.

Cloud groans and strokes her clit until her sounds are high-pitched and desperate. By then, his own desire is almost unbearable, the tip of his cock leaking onto Elmyra's sheets. He drops kisses all across Tifa's face, then takes his length in hand and presses upward, sliding into her and sheathing himself in her warmth.

Tifa moans and sighs throatily, wrapping her arms even tighter around him. It just encourages him to plunge deeper, burying himself as far as he can go. For a long moment he just lays there, his hips still as he wallows and basks in the feeling of her .

He almost lost her today, he thinks. He almost lost her forever, after a lifetime of fumbles and mistakes, of always going about things the wrong way. Of missing opportunities. Of never telling her how he truly feels.

But he has her. She's here, and she's his , and he's inside of her where he belongs and he loves her so so much.

"I love you, Tifa," he tells her again.

He starts to rock into her, and it starts off slow. Her moans are small but impassioned, buried into the sensitive skin of his throat. She begs and whines as he goes, lifting her hips to meet his until tiny, forceful slaps of skin meeting are heard. Suddenly he can't stop and neither can she, and all of the contention and disharmony of the night is forgotten.

And as they meet over and over and over again, eventually bursting together with muffled cries and spills of sweat between them, there is nothing but him and her.

Cloud and Tifa.

The rest is forgotten.

He doesn't even remember that he's got to tell her that her father might be dead by morning.