Author's Note –

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and even to those who didn't. I get a lot of hits on each chapter, so I know you're out there. A special thanks to PoutingCutie for her hysterical comments and making me laugh.

Just to clarify your curiosity as to when I'm going to give any hints about the "bad guy" or "bad guys". This story is entirely from Cloud's point of view and he doesn't know who's behind any of the threats so I can't reveal anything yet. Not until he starts getting a clue. But I promise I won't keep you hanging too much longer and you won't be disappointed. I just have a few minor details to get out of the way first.

Chapter 15 – Flaring Frustration

"So what does she like?"

I turned to Reno. "How the hell should I know?" We were in the two-seater Shinra helicopter, flying over Edge in random circles, not really sure where we wanted to land yet.

"You didn't ask Rufus?"

I rolled my eyes. "He's no help at all. He still thinks Tifa's twelve."

"She looks mighty fine for a twelve year old."

I shot him a warning look, but it went over his head. I had to be careful how I acted when it came to Tifa. The last thing I needed was for Reno or someone else to find out Tifa and I were romantically involved, just like the paper said. It was going to be really hard because I wasn't sure if I could keep my hands to myself when she was around. Especially not after this morning. Damn, we had been so close. Fucking Rude had to spoil it. Eh, maybe it was better this way. Being in a heightened state of arousal all day long? Yeah right, that was a lot better.

"How about a piece of jewelry?"

I needed to pretend my relationship with Tifa was platonic, like Aeris. "Too personal."

"A cookbook?"

"Too impersonal."

"Well then how about a twelve-piece ratchet set?"

I frowned at him. "Oh yeah, she needs tools like a hole in the head."

"Lingerie?"

"I can't give her lingerie."

"Why not?"

"You just don't, Reno."

"Guess I'll have to exchange my gift for something else."

"You got Tifa lingerie?"

"I thought all women like getting underwear."

"Yeah, if you were her boyfriend or husband. What the fuck is the matter with you? Were you in the wrong line when they handed out brains, you stupid dick?" He was really putting me in a bad mood.

He snapped his fingers. "I got it. Get her a hat."

I slapped my forehead with a groan. "I should have gone to Elena for help."

Apparently while I was sleeping off my injuries for the last four days, everyone who didn't know Tifa had met her and took an instant liking to her. So now everyone came to celebrate her birthday. Barret, Cid and his wife Shera, Vincent, Yuffie, Reeve with his mechanical cat, Cait Sith. Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng…when I saw Tseng I almost wanted to punch him in the mouth, just because he looked like one of the guys that had been after me and Tifa. But I was pretty sure that would have raised some eyebrows.

The only one missing was Nanaki. The last time I talked to him, he said he was learning the ways of his ancestors so he could take over running Cosmo Canyon. His grandfather, Bugenhagen, was getting too old for the job. I missed the big red lion bastard or…wolf or…whatever he was.

Aeris was fluttering around like a busy bee, making sure everyone always had a full glass of whatever they were drinking. She really was the perfect hostess. I mean, she decorated the place with streamers and balloons and cooked all the food on the table off to the side. She even made the large cake that said 'Happy 19th Birthday, Tifa' in big pink letters.

Ever since I left the medical ward, I felt like I was starving. I ate everything in sight. Now the snack table was calling my name and I walked over to see what I could munch on. As I grabbed a handful of chips, Cid walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"How the hell are ya, kid?" he asked.

"I'm all right." My free hand automatically went up to my chest, where most of the pain radiated. Rude told me earlier that I might still need to administer some Hi-potion on the scars there.

"Heard what happened to your bike," Cid said solemnly. "Fucking waste, man."

I frowned and nodded. Cid helped me get a lot of the parts I needed when I was building Fenrir. I wouldn't have been able to do it without him.

"Tell ya what, I'll bring over that Hardy Daytona you seemed to like."

I looked up at him in surprise. "You have it? I thought it got destroyed when Diamond Weapon's blast hit Shinra Headquarters." The Hardy Daytona was the motorcycle I found at Shinra headquarters when we were trying to escape from there last year.

"Aeris told me how fond you were of that bike, so I found it still in one piece while you and the others were in Wutai. Took it home. Thought it might come in handy someday." He sniffed and wiped at his nose, trying to act tough. "Well, the piece of shit's yours until you build yourself another one."

"Thanks, Cid."

He squeezed my shoulder again. "By the way, the guys keep telling you, you need to stop bringing a sword to a gunfight."

I smiled. It was an inside joke between the guys in AVALANCHE. Barret had his gun arm and Vincent had his pistols. They made fun of Cid and I because he used a harpoon and I used swords.

"Yeah, so I'll talk to you later, kid." Cid sniffed again and walked away.

It was weird seeing him act so sentimental. I didn't think the hard ass had an ounce of sappiness in him. Everyone seemed to be getting soft in the head lately, including me. We needed to get the AVALANCHE team back together and go hunting for monsters in all the places we knew they hid. Kicking some monster ass would definitely make men out of us again.

At around 8:00, Aeris told everyone to keep quiet because Rufus was bringing Tifa over. A minute later there was a knock on the door. Aeris took a deep breath before opening it.

"Surprise!!" yelled everyone as Tifa walked in, followed by Shinra.

She looked around in a daze and after realizing what was going on, she grinned and started going around hugging everyone.

I watched her chatting briefly with each person. It really made me happy to see her happy.

When she came to me, she looked me over in an almost formal way, like we hadn't shared some rather intimate moments together. "You look good, Cloud. So you're okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Good as new." I pulled her into a friendly hug, but held it a little longer than normal so I could whisper in her ear. "I love you."

As she pulled away, our eyes met and she gave me a reserved smile that spoke a thousand words to me. But when I glanced up and noticed Rufus looking our way, I feigned indifference and walked away to get myself a beer in the kitchen.

Unfortunately Shinra decided to follow me.

I grabbed two beers out of the refrigerator and held one out to him as he came up behind me.

"Thank you," he said as he took it.

I was about to walk around him, but he held a hand up to stop me.

"Cloud, I haven't had a chance to properly thank you for everything you did for Tifa."

"No need to thank me. You paid me, right?"

"Yes, the money is in the account, just like you asked."

I felt sick to my stomach all of a sudden. Did I really care about the money? I mean, it was a lot and it would help pay to have another motorcycle built. But I was more concerned about Tifa. I looked up at him. "It's not all about the money, Rufus. I did it because I care about her."

"So you remember about your friendship with Tifa back in Nibelheim?"

"Yeah, I remember. We were really close, like bestfriends."

"And now?" He seemed to be scrutinizing my face pretty thoroughly. What was he looking for?

"We're still friends."

"Just…friends?"

I frowned at him, hoping my feelings for Tifa weren't so obvious. "Yeah, just friends. What're you implying?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, Cloud. I'm merely satisfying my own curiosity. You told me she was mad at you about something."

"That's right, because she thought I forgot about her. Well, she knows everything now."

He nodded with a small smile. "Good. I'm glad."

I stared at him for a few seconds, wondering what he was hiding? "Are you ever going to tell me what they're really after? If they wanted you dead, they'd have done it by now."

Rufus took a quick swig from his beer and then smiled that untrusting, suspicious little smile. "I did say you were very perceptive."

Before we could continue the conversation, Marlene rushed in and grabbed me by the hand. "Come on, Cloud." She started pulling me. "Tifa's going to blow out the candles."

I let Marlene drag me out of the kitchen.

When we got to the den, Aeris was lighting the nineteen candles and the extra one for good luck. I stood around the table with everyone else.

I thought Tifa looked really stunning in her short blue dress. It reminded me of the day in Nibelheim by the well, before I left town the next day. She wore a blue dress then, too. But she was definitely filling this dress a lot better than back then. Just looking at her sent chills up my spine.

Tifa looked at everyone individually. "This is really great. Honestly. I've spent the last few years celebrating my birthday in school and it wasn't much fun. I look forward to spending time with my new friends…and an old one."

Our eyes met and I had this strange urge to blurt out that I loved this girl, right in front of everyone. But it probably wouldn't have been a good idea. Instead I just gave her my trademark crooked smile. "Who're you calling old?"

Everyone laughed.

Tifa rolled her eyes and then bent to blow out the candles before the wax melted completely into the cake.

Shera took over cutting the cake and passing it around while Marlene dragged Tifa to sit down on the couch and open her presents.

I turned to Reno and he gave me a wink before sneaking out the door.

As Tifa opened each gift, she thanked the individual who gave it to her. When she had gone through everything, she thanked everyone again. But the look of disappointment was too noticeable to miss. She thought I didn't get her anything, which is exactly what I wanted her to think.

I went out the door when Reno seemed to be taking too damned long. Just as I closed the door behind me, Reno came around the corner carrying Tifa's present. It was a three month old kitten, black and white, with big gray eyes. Reno and I had argued for an hour about what to get Tifa until we finally agreed to go to the pet shop. When I saw the little guy, I couldn't resist. I knew Tifa would love him.

"Sorry, it took so long," said Reno. "He clawed my arm and I had to change my shirt."

I took the kitten from Reno and waited for him to open the door. The kitten started cuddling and purring under my chin as I walked back inside the apartment.

Tifa looked up when I walked in. She noticed the kitten in my arm and squealed. She jumped off the couch and practically knocked Barret down to get to me. "Oh, it's so cute."

"He's yours, Tifa," I said with a smile and handed the kitten to her. "I would have gotten you a puppy, but I don't think an apartment is the right place for one."

"Oh, Cloud, I love him." She showered the kitten with kisses, making me wish I was the center of that kind of attention.

"Happy birthday," I said.

"Thank you." She looked up at me as she cuddled the kitten to her chest.

I could tell by the look in her eyes, she wanted to kiss me. She could probably see it in mine, too. I couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted to be kissing her and touching her and telling her I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

Everyone was watching us, so I quickly broke the eye contact and bent to kiss her on the cheek. "We bought all the stuff, too. Litter box and kitten food."

Marlene and Denzel rushed over and argued about who could hold him first.

"What're you going to name him?" asked Marlene.

Tifa looked into the kitten's eyes. "I think he wants to be called…Fluffy."

Denzel made a yuck sound. "Not for a boy cat. He needs a cool name, like Raven or Samurai."

Tifa grinned. "I like Samurai." She gave me a brief glance and a smile.

My insides flamed up. I had to walk away. Her suggestive smiles were killing me.

A few times throughout the evening, I tried to get Tifa alone. But someone always rushed over to drag her off and join a conversation somewhere else. I would have taken her upstairs if I didn't think someone would miss the birthday girl's absence.

Everyone left around 11:30. I thought I could finally have some time alone with Tifa, but Aeris immediately took her by the hand and pulled her away.

Tifa gave me a longing look over her shoulder as she let Aeris usher her upstairs. Marlene and Denzel tagged behind them, arguing about whose turn it was to hold Samurai.

I watched them disappear up the stairs and then looked around at the mess in the den. If I wasn't so disgruntled over not even getting a chance to kiss Tifa goodnight, I would have been enthusiastic enough to clean up. But I wasn't in the mood so I just went upstairs to my room and closed the door behind me.

After changing into my pajamas, I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. What the hell was I going to do? I wanted Tifa so bad I literally wanted to cry. We'd never have a moment alone here in Healin.

There was a light knock on the door and I jumped up when I heard Tifa whisper my name from the other side. I rushed over and threw the door open.

When she immediately put her arms around me and pressed her lips against mine, I pulled her away from the door and closed it. We kissed each other like we were desperate, which was pretty close to the truth.

But she pulled away too soon. "I only have a few minutes. Aeris is in the bathroom." She reached up to caress my cheek. "I just wanted to say goodnight."

I leaned my forehead against hers, not ready to let go of her just yet. "Goodnight."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." I kissed her again, holding it a little longer before releasing her.

"I love my kitten, Cloud."

"Good, I'm glad."

"I thought you forgot."

"I know you did." I kissed her again. "We'll take Samurai to the vet tomorrow."

"Okay." She smiled. "And then what?"

I didn't really have an agenda planned out. "Well, what else did you wanna do?"

She reached up and squeezed my cheeks together, forcing my lips to pucker up. "I want my real present and you know what I mean."

"We'll see," I mumbled out of my scrunched face before she released it. Man, I was really starting to sound like a clueless bastard. What the fuck's the matter with you, Cloud? Your girlfriend just propositioned you for sex and all you can say is, 'we'll see'? What kind of a moron are you?

She looked down between us and tugged on the waistband of my pajamas, pulling them away from my stomach. She bit her lower lip as she tried to look inside. "Hm, not bad."

What kind of game was she playing now? "Whatta you mean not bad?"

"Well, it's definitely bigger than the last time I saw it in Nibelheim."

I frowned at her. Was she talking about my penis? "What last time?"

She looked up with a grin. "I saw your peepee when we were younger."

I folded my arms. "Yeah? And where was this?"

She giggled. "I can't tell you. You'll be embarrassed."

"Try me."

"Okay. You know how we lived next door and our bedroom windows were facing each other?" She looked down and brushed her fingers over my chest, making me shiver alittle. "Well, one morning I happened to look out and there you were in your room, looking at yourself in the mirror and flexing your muscles." She looked up, an evil grin plastered on her face. "And you were naked."

I rolled my eyes, not really remembering exactly when it happened because I used to flex in front of the mirror a lot when I was younger, wishing I wasn't so scrawny and small.

"It was so cute, just dangling there." She held up her pinky. "It was like this big."

My face turned red. Talk about spoiling the moment…and my mood. I opened the door. "Out." She turned to leave with a giggle and I grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to me for one last kiss.

Then she pulled away and rushed down the hall to slip into Aeris's bedroom.

And just in time, too. The bathroom door opened.

I quickly shut my door and sighed heavily at another unfulfilled moment. Sooner or later my luck had to change for the better. I pulled my pajamas away from my stomach and looked down the front of them. "Better show off next time she's around."

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