Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and its characters belong to Square Enix and many others. Sadly, I'm not one of them.

Revised and edited January 7, 2007.
-----------------------------------

Metathesiophobia or, Moving Forward
By Lady Calliope

Part Twelve: Agoraphobia

-----------------------------------

Everything about the night so far had been expected—everything but the kiss. Demanding, soft, possessive lips molded her own in a way that she'd only dreamed about for countless years. Forest eyes held her in place as she withdrew, almost too stunned to realize what it all meant. Almost.

"Wh…what—"

"I've been wanting to do that since we were kids." He leaned forward again and her pulse leapt at the thought of his taste. But he didn't kiss her, just whispered so only she could hear above the crowd and tinkling glassware. "I'm sorry."

A hand grabbed her heart as panic set in. She was barely able to ask. "For what?"

"For not realizing sooner. For acting like that night outside the airship meant nothing. For you."

"For me?" Confusion replaced fear.

He smirked in a way that made her legs burn with the effort of standing. "You're stuck with me. I'm not letting go again."

Her lips ghosted his ear and it was his turn to attempt to control his heart rate. "I can live with that." She blew on his skin, light as a whisper, daring in the face of his conviction. "How about we continue this discussion at my place?" She'd never, not even when facing world destruction or death itself, been this bold in her life. Maybe it was the dress. But to say he was merely turned on by the change was a gross understatement.

They'd already broken polite social protocol in front of hundreds of titled people, so he made no attempt at decorum now. After once more releasing her from the crushing force of his lips he raised the corner of his mouth in a wicked grin. "Race you to the car. Winner gets to be on top."

In high heels she was at a distinct disadvantage, but she had never been one to back down from a challenge. "You're on." Besides, win or lose this competition, she had already won more than enough.

The pair made record time and managed to avoid knocking or jostling anyone on their way out. Though their escape was far from inconspicuous, those that knew them smiled into their champagne. A short, dark-haired girl wearing Wutaian robes smiled to herself before finishing her drink. "About damn time."

But as their car tore through the streets of Midgar she found herself asking one question over and over in her mind, unable to give in to the euphoria at the edge of her senses. "Cloud?"

"Tifa?"

She had to know, needed to know. "Why now? Why tonight?"

A self-satisfied look. "Like I was going to let any other guy near you in that dress. Red's a good color for you, but I'm not sure I want you wearing it again. In public, that is."

"Cloud." He hated admissions, but she refused to back down just because she didn't like making him uncomfortable. Had he ever seen her, really seen her, before now? His words made her recall what Cid had said to her earlier that night and she desperately didn't want the older man to be correct.

A brief silence. "Life is moving forward, right?"

"Right…" This didn't sound like the Cloud she knew.

"Before, I wanted everything to stay the same. There was always a part of me that seemed unstable, so I wanted everything I could control to stay steady. No changes, no surprises. But things kept changing and I was left standing still, off-balance. Trying to catch up, I guess."

"And now?"

"Now…everything's changed but nothing's really changed, you know? All the districts are rebuilt but there's different people living in them. You have your bar back but there's no AVALANCHE headquarters in it. Hell, even Shinra's back but instead of firing a huge canon they're throwing a fancy party to commemorate the occasion." He paused, trying to weave his thoughts. "You've been the one constant in my life—always there when I need you. But tonight, when you walked through those doors, I realized I was sick of standing still. If Shinra can move forward than I can, too." She barely heard his last whispered remark. "And some things need to change because they're no longer possible."

Well, that wasn't what she'd expected. She must have looked confused. "Does that make any sense?"

"Perfect sense." It was just more than she could ever remember him speaking at once. His last words bothered her for a reason she failed to pinpoint, but she rejected the idea of telling him—she would not rebuff him for semantic reasons. Finally, just when she was accepting that he would never look her way, she'd managed to catch his eye. Finally, she was getting everything she'd always known she'd wanted.

At the newly re-constructed Shinra building a cigarette butt dropped to the ground and was crushed under heel. Callused fingers loosened the tie around his neck and allowed the breeze to pull his focus from the receding tail lights. His piercing blue eyes aimlessly scanned the now empty, dark streets.

"I hate this city."