Chapter 7

oOoOo

"Tifa, I think he's not ill. It's just his body heat." Vincent told Tifa persistently for the 9th time already while observing Rufus lying down on the bed with a thermometer in his mouth and a cold compress on his forehead. He approached the bed and snatched off the cold compress from Rufus Shinra's forehead.

Tifa's mouth dropped open in protest as she rushed to Vincent and grabbed the small folded cold damp towel from him. "Vincent, how could you? I'm the one taking care of Rufus here!" she snapped in annoyance as she returned the towel on Rufus's forehead.

Rufus, on the other hand, was looking disturbed. He just wanted the thermometer out of his mouth but he could not move because Tifa has placed a lot of pillows on both his sides and she even placed a brown teddy bear by his right shoulder; he also knows that if he tried to move, she would get angry.

Vincent crossed his arms. "Just don't make a mistake in giving him medication for now because he doesn't really have fever." He told her.

"Well yes, I won't give him fever medication. I don't want him to become drug-dependent." She answered as she finally pulled out the thermometer from his mouth and checked his temperature. "Oh. It's gone!" she said happily before setting the thermometer aside and removed the cold compress from Rufus's head.

"Anyway, have you had dinner yet?" Vincent asked Tifa.

"I still feel quite full actually. I ate before I left the house this afternoon." She answered before looking around at the room. "Wow. Cloud's right. It's a big house. And this room is big too." she remarked, impressed. "I can't believe he had that much money to buy this place." She added before staring at the bed and frowned, then turned her attention to the wooden floor. "I guess I'll just sleep on the floor. Are there extra mattresses?" she asked.

"None." Vincent answered.

"A comforter and a blanket then?" she asked.

"We're basically poor." Vincent explained.

Tifa fell silent.

"I'll get an extra blanket so that you and Rufus won't have to share." Vincent told her before leaving the room.

Tifa suddenly felt as if the world was on her shoulder. She was having a dilemma whether to share a bed with Rufus or not. Just the thought of sharing a bed with Rufus gave her butterflies in her stomach. "Maybe I'll just sleep on the floor." She told Rufus.

"Do you hate cockroaches and silverfish?" Rufus asked mindlessly.

Tifa looked at him curiously. "Yeah. I do." She answered, shuddering in disgust.

"Then don't sleep on the floor. The other night I saw a bunch of them on the floor and I couldn't even go to the bathroom." Rufus said.

Tifa cringed, feeling disgusted. She immediately jumped onto the bed. "You mean there are roaches around here?" she asked in shock.

Rufus looked at her unbelievably. "You're afraid of cockroaches?" he asked.

Tifa felt embarrassed to say so but she knew she had to be honest with him. "Y…yeah! They're disgusting!" she told him.

"You lived in the slums and you're not used to roaches. I'm amused." He said.

"Well I didn't basically grow up in the slums!" Tifa answered haughtily as she moved closer to Rufus.

Rufus sat up in annoyance. "Damn it. If you're going to climb up on my bed you should remove your shoes first!" he protested.

Tifa blinked. "Oh. Sorry." She said before untying her shoes and removed them, placing them on the floor. "I thought Vincent cleaned this place well?" she asked.

"Well he hasn't fumigated yet." He told her.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I don't know about him but I'd like to call the pest control already to get rid of those damn insects." He muttered.

Vincent arrived back in the room carrying an extra blanket. "It has holes but this is the only one I can find in the linen closet." He answered.

"This house has a linen closet?" Tifa asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I think this blanket belongs to the former occupants of this house. I found it there." Vincent answered.

Tifa eyed the blanket suspiciously. "Uh… no, I don't think I'd like to use that." she said.

"Why not? It's clean." He answered and then sniffed it. He cringed.

"I don't think it's that clean. Judging from the look on your face, it must smell like mothballs." Rufus pointed out to him with a smug look on his face.

"Well you're right." Vincent answered before setting the blanket aside. "I'm sorry, Tifa, I guess you have to share with Rufus." He said.

Tifa smiled. "I got a better idea, why don't you just sleep with him tonight and I'll occupy your room instead?" she asked.

Silence.

"Earlier you were too possessive with the idea of taking care of Rufus by yourself and now you want me to exchange rooms with you so that you won't have to sleep with him. I can't believe you!" Vincent pointed out, crossing his arms.

Tifa frowned. "Well it will definitely be wrong for me to sleep beside him! I'm a girl!" she retorted.

"Come on, as if Rufus will do something to you? He's not that kind of man, I can assure you that." Vincent told her.

Rufus just sat still, looking at Vincent with a poker-faced look on his face.

Tifa breathed in. "Fine." She said before looking at Rufus with an uncomfortable look on her face. "Maybe it's time for me to learn how to fully trust Rufus if I really want to help him rebuild Shinra. He needs a lot of help from me… and of course, from Vincent and Cloud too." she decided silently.

With that, Vincent exited. "Well goodnight, kids." He said in a serious manner, although he meant it as a pun. He shut the door.

"Isn't it early for bedtime?" Tifa asked.

"It's 10:00 in the evening. Vincent makes me sleep early." Rufus said.

She breathed in and looked up at the ceiling. "Scary." She muttered.

"You'll get used to it." He answered before blowing off the flame of the candle on the bedside table. "Goodnight." He said before lying down again.

She stared into the darkness. "It's too dark in here." She said softly.

"I know." He answered.

"Don't tell me you're sleepy already?" she asked.

"To be honest with you, I don't feel sleepy unless it's past 12 midnight already." He said.

She smiled. "Me too." she said. "I usually don't turn in until 2 in the morning." She explained.

"And what time do you usually get up?" he asked.

"6." She answered.

"You only get 4 hours of sleep?" he asked in disbelief.

"I have to prepare breakfast for the children and do some chores. But I get some naps during the day anyway." She explained.

He was silent.

"What about you? How many hours of sleep do you get?" she asked.

He thought for a moment. "Before the Diamond Weapon explosion and before I got sick with Geostigma, I'd go to bed by 1 in the morning and wake up at 7. So that's around 6 hours." He answered. Then he closed his eyes. "But when I was confined in the hospital and at the Healin Lodge, I still didn't get to sleep that much because the nurses and the doctors would eventually wake me up for my medication." He explained.

She leaned back against the headboard and sighed heavily. "Geostigma…" she murmured.

He wondered what made her react that way.

"Was it really painful?" she asked with a bitter look on her face.

He thought for a moment, wondering whether he should tell her about how having Geostigma really felt for him. He is completely aware of the impression he has on people—that he never bleeds or cries. As for Tifa's case, she wanted to know whether he felt pain or not, because if he did, then she could finally reassure herself that Rufus is just like her and everyone else: human. Imperfect. Maybe then he could stoop down to their level.

He opened his eyes and peered into the darkness of the ceiling above them. "Yes. It was very painful, Tifa." He said softly.

She was surprised by his answer that her eyes widened as she turned her gaze to where she guessed Rufus's face was. She wished she could make out how his facial expression was at that moment, but all she could see was his silhouette and part of his eyes.

Rufus breathed in and raised his right hand a bit so he could see it. "That's why I'm thankful for Aerith… for healing me too." he said softly.

She seemed to have known where his right hand was and she reached for it and held it gently, squeezing it reassuringly. "You have been forgiven, Rufus." She said before lying down beside him.

He turned to her with a solemn look on his face. He could see her smiling tenderly at him. He then turned to the teddy bear. "Why did you bring this with you?" he asked, pulling his hand away from hers and grabbing the teddy bear. He handed it to her. "It's to keep you company, according to Marlene. She told me to bring it to you." She explained with a sweet smile on her face.

He smiled, remembering Marlene. "Such a sweet child." He pondered out loud before putting it over their heads, making it lean against the headboard. "How is she?" he asked mindlessly.

Tifa felt pleased with his concern on Marlene. "She misses you." She answered. "Barret went off to Corel some 3 days ago so she doesn't have a father figure at home for now. I would've taken her with me here but she has to go to school." She explained.

"Who takes her to school?" he asked.

"Tseng." She answered.

"And Denzel? How is he?" he inquired.

"He's doing alright. He helps out with the chores. Elena tutors him sometimes since he can't go to school yet." She explained.

"So Elena is well now?" he asked.

"Yes. She recuperated quite faster than expected. All she needed was proper treatment and medication at the clinic." She said brightly.

Rufus remembered something. "The reward I'm supposed to be getting for destroying the gang that attacked us some days ago… did Cloud get it already?"

Tifa nodded. "Yes. He set it aside first, reserving it for the next semester. It's only then that he could finally enroll Denzel to school." She answered.

Rufus took a deep breath and smiled, pleased with the plans. "That's good to hear." He answered.

The two spent the rest of the night talking about various things until they both drifted off to sleep by 1 in the morning.

oOoOo

The next morning, Cloud was up earlier than usual, around 6 in the morning. After getting dressed, he went to the kitchen to start looking for food to eat.

"Where does Tifa keep the cheese?" Cloud muttered.

"It's in the refrigerator, Cloud."

He smiled upon hearing her voice. "You're awake?" he asked.

"I never sleep. I watch over you." She answered sweetly.

He went over to the refrigerator. "You don't sleep anymore?" he asked.

"Sometimes I pretend to sleep beside you."

He blinked, wondering what that meant. He opened the refrigerator door and began to look for the cheese. When he found it, he brought it out and smelled it. "Still smells like cheese." He said before getting a plate and then sliced some 5 pieces

She giggled. "What do you mean it still smells like cheese?" she inquired.

"Sometimes, Tifa tends to keep things in the fridge for a long time and she doesn't realize that it already smells until I say so." He explained.

"Maybe she's just too busy to notice."

"Come on, Aerith, who could bypass the smell of rotten moldy cheese?" he retorted in disgust.

She just laughed at his reaction.

"Aerith?"

Cloud froze when he heard Yuffie's voice from behind him. When he turned around to look at her, he had a serious look on his face as he eyed her carefully. "You're up early." He remarked.

Yuffie was silent for a few moments, eyeing him suspiciously. "Yeah." She answered with a low tone before proceeding to the refrigerator to get the pitcher of orange juice. "You too." she said.

Cloud just sat down and began to eat. "The early bird gets the worm." He answered.

Yuffie poured herself a glass of orange juice and quickly drank it. With that, she headed for the back door. "Bye." She said.

"Where are you going this early?" he asked.

She stopped in her tracks. "…taking a walk." She answered.

"Shouldn't you be taking Tseng with you, Princess?" he asked.

She cringed before turning to face him again. "Aha! So you know the transaction my old man had with that Turk!" she said in exasperation.

"Well yeah. I was the one your father talked to first before I let him talk to Tseng." He answered nonchalantly before taking another bite of cheese.

Yuffie clenched her fists. "I don't need Tseng or you or my old man to guard me." She said before leaving.

"She'll be alright, Cloud. She's in good hands."

He looked up at the ceiling. "How can you say that? You know how impulsive she could get!" he answered.

"Someone else is watching over her."

He frowned slightly. "Does she have a dead relative?" he asked.

Before she could answer, he heard footsteps arriving from upstairs. He kept quiet and continued to eat. He could not risk getting caught again as if he's talking to himself or to an imaginary friend.

Reno arrived wearing only his pants. He was yawning as he greeted Cloud, "'morning, Strife."

Cloud stared at him with a gloomy look on his face.

Reno went to him and grabbed one of his cheese slices. "Thanks, dude." He said before gobbling it up.

Cloud eyed his remaining cheese slices on the plate before getting up. "I'm off to work. Where's the list?" he asked. He knows that Reno is the one in charge of helping him for that day.

"What list? You only have one delivery today. But it's in Wutai. Want me to accompany you?" Reno asked.

"No, I can manage." Cloud muttered before leaving.

oOoOo

Yuffie made her way through the busy streets of Midgar. "Gee. It's still early but everyone seems to be up and about." She wondered to herself when she saw from the clock by the traffic light that it was only 6:30 in the morning. When she arrived at the bus station, she was surprised that Zack was already there.

He smiled at her. "Hey," he greeted.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Hey," she greeted back.

And they walked together to a restaurant where they could have breakfast.

oOoOo

It was 8 in the morning when Tifa opened her eyes and when she expected to see Rufus still sleeping beside her, she was surprised to see that he was not there anymore. She instantly got up, feeling alarmed. "Where is he?" she thought before she jumped out of bed and put on her shoes. She ran out of the bedroom, "Vincent!" she called out.

She reached the dining area and was surprised to see Vincent and Rufus starting to eat breakfast. She froze and stared at Rufus with a dumbfounded look on her face.

"Good morning, Tifa. Care for some toast?" Vincent asked.

She breathed in and swallowed hard before taking her seat beside Rufus.

"You look shaken. Night terrors?" Rufus asked her before taking a sip of tea.

She shook her head as she forced a smile. She grabbed some toasted bread from the serving plate and placed it on her own plate. "No. I'm fine." She answered, not really wanting to admit that she felt worried when she realized that she was alone when she woke up. "Rufus, do me a favor. Next time, before you get out of bed, wake me up first." She told him firmly but gently.

"Whatever is that for, Tifa?" Rufus asked with a slight frown on his face.

She kept a straight face as she poured herself a cup of tea. "I don't want you roaming around the house without me. Who knows, you could fall down on the floor and no one's around to help you!" she said.

"That is ridiculous. I feel better now. My legs aren't as shaky as they were back in Midgar." He pointed out.

"But still…" she began.

Vincent was spreading some strawberry jam on his toasted bread. "Some scrambled eggs, you two?" he asked, meaning to interrupt their little argument.

Rufus mindlessly grabbed the plate of scrambled eggs and passed it on to Vincent while speaking, "You are beginning to sound like a mother."

Tifa was taken aback. Surely she did not want to sound like a mother to him, but at that moment, she had no other choice. "I'm just concerned about your health and safety, Rufus." She said softly.

Vincent breathed in. "I think it would be best if you take Rufus out for a walk." He told Tifa.

"Take me out for a walk? What am I a dog?" Rufus exclaimed.

Tifa ignored him and agreed to Vincent's idea. "Sure. He needs the sunshine." She answered.

Rufus just kept quiet and continued to eat.

After breakfast, when it was time to do the dishes, Tifa forbade Rufus to step into the kitchen to help her and Vincent with the chore. Instead, she made him go to the living room and told him to wait for her there.

"You are babying him too much." Vincent told Tifa while washing the dishes.

"I am not. I'm just worried about his health. He isn't that well yet and I don't want anything bad happening to him." She answered with a concerned tone.

He smiled lightly. "I'm surprised at your change of heart." He said.

She smiled slightly. "People deserve second chances." She said.

He just kept quiet.

"What about you? What made you decide to take care of him?" she asked.

Vincent thought for a while and then shrugged. "Like what you said, people deserve second chances." He answered. "Tell you what, leave all the household chores to me and you attend to Rufus now." He said.

Tifa nodded. "Alright." She said as she began to rinse her hands, wiped them dry on a dishcloth and then rushed to the living room.

oOoOo

Cloud arrived in Wutai by 5 in the afternoon. He had to ride a ship across continents just to reach that country. Upon arriving, it was only then that he read the address and the recipient of the package.

"It's for Lord Godo, Yuffie's dad."

He nodded. "Yeah." He said softly before making his way to the palace where the Kisaragi Family lives.

"So what's inside?"

Cloud shrugged. "Not really sure. It's a medium-sized box." He answered.

For some reason, the guards recognized him and immediately let him inside to the Pagoda area where Lord Godo was spending the afternoon drinking green tea and watching the sunset.

"Good afternoon, Lord Godo." Cloud greeted with a serious tone.

Lord Godo turned to him curiously. "Oh. Mister Strife. How nice of you to drop by," he said. Cloud noticed that he seemed to be looking over his shoulder as if expecting another person to be with him. "And where is my daughter?" he asked.

Cloud brought out the package. "This is all I have for now. But don't worry, she's in good hands. Tseng is doing his job." He explained before handing the package to the old man.

Lord Godo took the package and inspected it carefully before opening it in front of Cloud. Inside were a letter and a brooch in the shape of a red rose. He got the letter and read it slowly, "Dad. Sorry if I'm taking too long to return. But this brooch is for the anniversary of mom's death. I know she lost hers during the war. Could you offer this to her for me? Thanks. Love, Yuffie."

He smiled bitterly. "That little girl of mine." He stifled a sob as he put the letter aside and showed Cloud the brooch. "Today is my wife's death anniversary." He explained.

Cloud looked at the brooch carefully.

"Sit down and have some tea with me. I'm sure you had a long journey from Midgar to here. Why don't you spend the night here instead too and I'll arrange for a ship to leave early the next day to Midgar instead? Tell me all the escapades my daughter has had." Lord Godo said with an amused look on his face, trying to look happy.

Cloud took a quick glance at the orangey skies. "Accept his offer. You're tired. You need rest." He heard her say. With that he obliged to Lord Godo's offer and sat down. It was also then that he remembered that it on that day, but several years back, Shinra attacked Wutai and it erupted into a war. "Today is your wife's death anniversary?" Cloud asked curiously.

Lord Godo nodded, smiling sadly. "Yuffie was young back then. Nearing her teens. Her mother died in the war… killed by a SOLDIER." He explained.

Cloud lowered his gaze to his teacup. "Sephiroth?" he asked.

"No. Not Sephiroth. Another one. Also a First Class SOLDIER like Sephiroth." Lord Godo answered.

Cloud was trying to remember who it was but he could not recall the full details because he was in the frontline during the shootings. He could recall, however, that one of his higher-ups, was panicking upon return to barracks, looking so regretful because he had killed a mother out of orders from Sephiroth.

oOoOo

Yuffie basically spent the whole day with Zack. Although they just stayed in the Church telling stories about each other's lives, Yuffie was never bored. She just loved having him around her all the time.

She mentioned to him about her observation on Cloud's behavior. "I think he really misses Aerith deep down inside. He talks to himself all the time like he's talking to someone… and this morning, I caught him saying her name like he's speaking to her!"

Zack did not comment on the matter, he just listened as she continued to share to him her thoughts on Cloud.

When it was already 5:30 in the afternoon, Zack decided to walk her back home, but when they arrived in Tifa's house in Edge, he just looked at the house and said that he has to leave already.

She pouted. "Don't you want to join us for dinner? I'm sure Tseng cooked something nice!" she said.

Zack's eyes widened a bit upon hearing the name. He turned to Yuffie with a smile on her face. "I'm afraid I can't join you for dinner. Maybe some other time." He said.

She bowed down her head.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

She looked up at him with a troubled look on her face. "Cloud's not back home yet. I wonder if he was able to deliver the gift to my dad." She stated with a shaky tone.

He blinked. "Does he know that it came from you?" he asked.

"Nah. I just requested Reno and Tseng to add the delivery to the list and I told them to make sure it is delivered today so that dad won't be lonely." She said softly.

Zack patted her shoulders gently. "I'm sure Cloud was able to give it to your father." He said.

"Well yeah. I mean, it's my mom's death anniversary today…" she said with a sad smile on her face.

His smile faded when he heard that and Yuffie noticed it. "Are you alright, Zack?" she asked.

She was surprised when he just took her in his arms and embraced her tightly. He had a troubled look on his face as he hugged her. Yuffie, on the other hand, was blushing severely.

Zack smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry about your mom, Yuffie." He said softly.

She felt her heart sink when she heard that. She smiled quietly and returned his embrace.

He took a deep breath and smiled gently as he stroked her hair. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

She nodded against his chest. "Sure." She said.

He kissed her head; he closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in her scent. "Good night." He said.

As he left her standing by the front door of Tifa's house, she just stared at him with a stunned look on her face. Her cheeks were still flushed as she watched him disappear down the street. She had never felt so happy that way before.

Her moment, however, was interrupted when the front door opened and there was Tseng. "Well hello, Princess. Where have you been?" he asked.

He expected her to act crabby with his inquiry, but instead, she giggled and pushed him aside so that she could enter the house. "Just walking around." She said happily before rushing upstairs.

Tseng, however, was suspicious. He just stood in his spot, eyeing Yuffie as she ran upstairs.

Elena arrived from the kitchen. "Everything alright, sir?" she asked.

Tseng took a deep breath. He had a disturbed look on his face. "Did you see that, Reno?" he asked.

Reno was in the living room at first but he went to Tseng. "Hell yeah." He answered.

Elena wondered what they were talking about. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Reno scratched his head. "That girl was talking to herself outside." He explained.

"What girl?" Elena asked.

"Yuffie." Tseng answered.

Elena was dumbfounded. "Why would she even be talking to herself?" she asked curiously.

"Not only that; it's like she's hugging someone too." Reno said.

She gasped. "Oh my gawd! Why would she even do that?" she exclaimed.

"I don't know… PMS-ing?" he answered, shrugging.

"Oh come on! Girls don't go nuts when they have PMS!" she pointed out.