Short Drabble (7 June 2006)

"And you!" Cloud exclaimed as he shot the guy before him a deathly glare. "You…"

"I'm her boyfriend." He stated matter-of-factly.

"You're her boyfriend, right…" Cloud nodded and turned before suddenly whipping round to look at him in the eye. "Wait, did I just hear that correctly?"

A look of disbelief and confusion was apparent on Cloud's facial features.

The corner of Reno's lips curved into a smirk.

"That is not possible!"

"And why's that?"
"Because you are Reno!" Cloud answered pointedly.

Reno snorted in response.

"You are our enemy!"

"Were." A soft voice spoke up, barely audible.

Both guys turned to face the owner of the voice. Tifa offered a small smile.

"Tifa…" Cloud's voice sounded strained. "Can we talk for a moment?"

Tifa nodded and shot a look at Reno, hoping he would get the clue. Reno shrugged good-naturedly and left the room without a backward glance.

"Tifa…" Cloud begin.

"Cloud. I know this is seemingly insane but it's not. I know what I'm doing."

"You do?" He raised an eyebrow as he tried to catch her eye.

Tifa looked away instead, looking at everywhere else except for his eyes.

"I don't think you do Tif. This is Reno we're talking about. Someone who's tried to kill us, me, you. Someone who probably didn't have a single conscience when he took the lives of the innocent."

"I know."

"The same person who was part of the gang who wanted to destroy everything good all for their own selfish reasons."

"Cloud, I know."

Cloud shook his head. He took a few steps closer to Tifa and carefully reached out for her, hoping she wouldn't back away. She didn't. He gathered her into his arms as her own went around his waist. Her head snaked onto the crook of his neck as he rested his chin on her head, slowly breathing in her familiar vanilla scent.

"I missed you." He whispered in a voice dripping with emotion.

The sable-haired girl said nothing in return as his arms wrapped themselves tighter around her.

"How are you holding up?"

"Pretty good. The bar's doing quite well, with Tristan and Mae helping out, it gives me a little less work." She softly answered, still in his embrace.

"That's good to hear. Has the others been here?"

"No."

Cloud gently pulled her away and gingerly lifted her chin with his finger to look at her in the eye. Her brown eyes were now shining with the tears so evidently present.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be around."

She slowly shook her head with a small understanding smile.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. I felt horrible when you left. Horrible that I couldn't be who you wanted me to be and do what you wanted me to do. I took you for granted when you were around, always assuming that you'd be there." He said it all in one breath.

Cloud felt like he was letting all his emotions out at once as he felt the air rushing from his lungs.

"I'm sorry I was an idiot who left you by yourself. Who made you cry and never did show you that I care." He continued.

"No wonder you decided to leave. And I don't blame you for that Tif. I was a horrible companion, wasn't I?"

Tifa shook her head. Gently, she took hold of his free right hand and looked at it tearfully. Cloud stared at her in curiosity. Without a word, she lifted his hand towards her face as she allowed her lips to gently brush against his knuckles.

"Tifa…"

"Cloud, it's okay. It was in the past. Let's just forget it alright?" She whispered as her brown eyes traveled its way from his knuckles to his mako-filled blue eyes.

He slowly nodded as he pulled her back into his arms to which she willingly obliged and allow herself to be held by him.

"I missed you too."

It was said in such a soft tone that he barely caught it. His only response was a gentle kiss onto her dark locks as his blue eyes closed, feeling the familiar comfort of her in his arms.

Standing in the darkness, behind the wooden door, another pair of blue eyes clouded over. The eyes were voided of any emotion as he forced himself to look away. Slowly, he made his way down the steps, careful not to make a sound which would allow the occupants of the room to know of his presence.

"Should've known." He muttered under his breath.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Tifa came down half and hour later with obvious red eyes, a tell-tale sign that she had been crying her heart out for the past few moments. Behind her, Cloud followed.

Reno barely lifted his head to acknowledge their presence. Instead, he stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?"

He stopped in his tracks, not taking a look back, afraid of what he'd see. A face that would show concern, but concern in a way only a friend would, not as a lover would. Not the kind of concern that he had seen days before in her brown eyes.

"Out." He answered simply.

He heard her footsteps crossed the room towards where he was standing. Reno felt his back stiffened as her fingers wrapped themselves around his arm.

"Why?"

Letting out an unconcerned, unaffected laugh, he brushed his free hand through his hair.

"Just because."

"Reno…"

"You don't have to say anything Lockheart. I already know." His voice had a tone of bitterness, causing him to wince. He didn't want to let her know how he was feeling, he had vowed to himself that he would not show any weakness.

Her hand dropped from his arm. He felt his heart dropping with it. Part of him wished she hadn't done so, she would tell him to stay and not be stupid. He lingered for a moment or so, hoping for the words he longed to hear.

Silence.

That was all he needed. Reno took a deep breath and made his way to the door. As the door opened, his heart was still hoping for the voice to speak up. To say something. Anything. But there was none.

Taking one step forward, he decided that this was it, there was no turning back. For a brief moment there, he debated going back to her and plead, or at least convince, her to not make the decision that she did. He wanted her to choose him. He bit his lower lip and decided it was not going to change anything. With another step forward, he allowed the door to close behind him with a shut.

Without a look back, he walked away.

It was near Christmas and snow was falling, making it a wonderland joy for any little kid. The weather was cold enough where if you were to put a bucket of water outside for two hours, it would freeze over into ice.

Out in the winter coldness, he felt his own heart frozen over.

Note: This is just a filler piece, not exactly related to the current fic. I decided that I like it very much to dispose of it and also due to the very nice suggestion of Nando the RPS King, so yeah, it will remain here. Not exactly an alternate ending though, but just a short drabble of mine. Cheers!