Author's Note – Love the reviews, as usual. Thanks for the advice, Toons, I'm going with the version you suggested. Also, I've had this discussion with some of you already and thought others should be aware. As you probably guessed, I'm a girl and it's very difficult writing from a guy's point of view, especially when it comes to s.e.x. You might notice Cloud gets alittle rough around the edges sometimes and that's because I don't want him to sound like a girl. So please excuse him if he says inappropriate words or acts inappropriately in "certain" situations. He's young and virile (I hate that word, but I can't think of any other). I'm not basing his actions on anything or anyone in particular, so to any male readers, please don't be offended. And if popular demand didn't ask for "adult" material, I wouldn't be writing any in this fic.

Hope you enjoy this FLUFFY chapter.

Warning – This chapter contains graphic sexual content.

Chapter 16 – Halfway to Heaven

I woke up at 8:00 the next morning. When I opened my bedroom door, I heard movement downstairs and the smell of freshly-brewed coffee. Someone was cleaning up the mess in the den.

I stumbled my way to the bathroom, yawning and rubbing my eyes. After taking care of some personal business, I went to the sink and started brushing my teeth. It was my morning ritual, even though I planned to go back to bed and sleep for another two hours.

When I came out of the bathroom, I thought about Tifa and went the other way to peek in Aeris's room, hoping to find Tifa still in bed. The bed was empty and unmade. Both of the girls were probably downstairs. Samurai, the kitten, was curled up in a ball on one of the pillows.

As I approached the kids' room, I could hear Denzel snoring the paper off the walls. When I took a peek in the room, I saw Marlene's bed was neatly made, which meant she was also up and about helping Aeris and Tifa.

Time for alittle more beauty sleep. I walked back to my room and closed the door. When I turned around, I was greeted with something totally unexpected.

Tifa was sitting on my bed, on her heels, wearing nothing but a large white teeshirt. She looked both sexy and innocent sitting there like that.

My brain shut down. "I thought you were downstairs."

She got up and walked toward me, pulling off the teeshirt and leaving her in nothing but panties.

I couldn't control the tool between my legs as it reacted to her boldness and unquestionably clear intention. My hand automatically went down to the doorknob and I fumbled to lock the door.

When Tifa reached me, she slid her arms around my neck and hugged me, pressing her bare chest against mine. "I can't stand being away from you anymore, Cloud."

The feeling was undeniably mutual. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around her. The feel of skin on skin was making me crazy. She was warm and smelled musky, like she just woke up. She started kissing the side of my neck and my knees went weak. I should have stopped her, but I couldn't. I wanted her so badly. I was willing to give up everything to be with her. My work, my home, my freedom. My life. Everything.

What the hell, anyway. She was my girlfriend, wasn't she? Come to think of it, we never really established the whole commitment thing between us. Not really. It was sort of an unspoken commitment. We both knew we wanted to be together. And I was ready for a commitment with her.

Tifa tilted her face up and her eyes were damp with tears. "I love you."

Hearing those three words coming from her lips sent a jolt through me every single time she said it. I'd never get tired of it. But I didn't want her to cry, even though I knew they were probably happy tears.

I joined our lips and kissed her softly. But it wasn't enough for either of us as our mouths moved more eagerly. We were starving for each other, tongues stroking and exploring and tasting. She squeezed her arms tighter around my neck and I lifted her off the floor. Her legs wrapped around my waist and my back hit the door.

I moved over to the right and turned to press Tifa's back against the wall, kissing her harder. Days and days of sexual tension between us and the frustration of being interrupted, I couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't letting her walk out of here without achieving some kind of satisfaction for both of us.

She pulled away from my mouth after a couple minutes and sucked in air through her teeth. Without even realizing it until she made that sound, I found myself humping and grinding between her legs like a rutting dog.

Damn, I wasn't going to waste a good orgasm like this. I loved her too much to cheapen our first time together. I needed to slow down.

I gently pulled away and set her back on her feet.

Tifa's expression immediately changed and she gave me a questioning look. "Cloud…" She probably thought I didn't want to continue.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay." I kissed her once…twice. "I'm not going anywhere." When I knew she was relaxed again, I reached between us and palmed her bare breasts, squeezing them gently.

She moaned against my lips and shivered.

Oah, the hell with this. It was too much. I just didn't have the patience or the control to do this the long way.

When Tifa started pawing at my pajama bottoms, trying to push them down, I had a feeling she didn't have the patience either. "Cloud…please…"

My groin screamed for me to stop the torture. I was so stiff, it actually hurt. Just two more minutes…I needed to be sure she was ready, even though she was pleading for me to make my move.

When I slid my hand down inside her panties, she let out a constrained moan.

It was music to my ears, but I didn't want her to be too loud and get everyone running upstairs. She was sopping wet and couldn't be anymore ready. In my impatience, I accidentally snapped the elastic of her panties and they came loose in my hand. So much for graceful tact. Her hands worked on my pajamas until they were around my ankles. I kicked them off and picked her up, wrapping her legs around my waist.

As I carried Tifa to my bed, she clung to me tightly, like she was afraid I'd disappear on her. I laid her on top of the sheets, staying with her on the way down. Our mouths never came apart. We continued to kiss passionately. I couldn't get enough of her. I just hoped that in my excitement I didn't suddenly lose it right in the middle.

Tifa's hands slid down my back and gripped my ass so hard, it felt like her nails drew blood.

I took that as my cue to proceed and I didn't waste anymore time. I slowly slid into her. Oh my Gods, she was tight. I looked down at her flushed face. She was biting her lower lip. I was hurting her…damn.

This meant two things: one, Tifa had never been with anyone before and two, we hadn't done anything that drunken night in the bathtub. I was so relieved on both counts, yet I suddenly felt a little uneasy about the way we were going about it. Rushed and fanatical. I imagined my first time with Tifa would have been a quiet dinner alone, maybe dancing to some soft music, working our way into the bedroom, undressing each other slowly, spending hours on foreplay…before going in for the final blowout.

I was confident she wanted this just as much as I did or she would have already put a halt to it. I gave her every opportunity to say no and I would stop if she asked me to. I wouldn't be too happy about it, but I'd stop.

Her tight walls were squeezing me so hard I thought I was going to pass out. She was tensed up like a vice and holding her breath when I reached my capacity inside her.

"Relax, Tifa…breathe."

She let out a burst of air from her lungs and breathed several quick breaths. She laughed alittle then.

I could feel her start to relax and the death grip on my cock began to loosen a bit. "That's it." I kissed her smiling lips and slowly pulled out. When I slid back in, I found it a little easier this time.

Tifa continued to breathe easily now as I rocked my hips against her, moving in and out in a slow rhythm..

It felt incredible and I wasn't going to last much longer. It'd been a long time since I had gone this far with any woman. My insides were celebrating in the best way possible and couldn't wait to reach the high point. Especially after two days of full-blown stimulation without reaching the final release. But I didn't want to hurt her again…so I went painstakingly slow. This was her first time and even though we were rushing through it, I still wanted her to at least feel the full effect. Hopefully we'd have opportunities to fully explore each other later.

She started arching upward, meeting my slow thrusts and her breathless moans became more ragged. The cringe on her face slackened and her cheeks were really flushed.

I wanted to ask her if it still hurt, but I didn't trust my own voice just yet. I tested her, driving just a little harder and faster. But that only served to get me closer to blowing my load.

Come on, I thought to myself. Hold on, man. Just a few more seconds. Wait for her. She's almost there. Afterall, this is for her, not for you. Don't be a selfish prick.

I was sweating and breathing hard through my clenched teeth…holding…holding…

Tifa suddenly let out a loud cry.

I panicked and covered her mouth with mine, just to keep her quiet. Her inner walls convulsed around me as she climaxed and it nearly sent me right over the edge. Wait…wait…where the hell were those condoms when I needed them?

The second she heaved a sigh of relief, I immediately pulled out of her and let loose between our pressed bodies. I buried my face against the side of her neck to muffle the noise coming out of my own mouth. Gods, it felt good.

She clung to me tightly as I rocked against her, riding out the last few seconds of my climax. When it was over, I pressed my sweaty face against the side of hers, breathing her in until everything slowed back down to normal.

I slowly rolled off of her and she turned on her side to face me. I was afraid she'd be upset or start crying…I imagined some girls got emotional about losing their virginity. It just went too damned fast. Both of us had been too excited and too wound up. I felt bad that her first time turned out like this.

But Tifa didn't look distressed at all, though. In fact she was smiling. And then she let out a giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"Finally."

"Finally?"

"Yes, finally. Ever since I was little and found out about sex…I always wanted my first time to be with you."

I gave her a crooked smile and decided to tease her. "That is so mushy, Tifa. Typical of what a girl would say."

She giggled again. "And my dream came true."

"Man, I'm gonna throw up."

She kept giggling.

In truth, I didn't know if what she said made me feel good or not. Did I take it as a compliment that she had always wanted me to be the first? Or was I now the creep who ruined her chance for the perfect wedding night?

WHAT?? Why the hell was I even thinking that? I didn't want Tifa to be with anyone else. No way. I would be her one and only. But that only made me feel bad that I didn't wait for her. My first time had been quick and senseless. I didn't even remember her name.

"What're you thinking about, Cloud?'

My eyes drifted down to her smiling face and I returned her smile. "I was thinking about how much I wanna do that again." I cupped her cheek. "Just give me a minute and I'll be ready for another round." I kissed her.

She responded with a little grunt when I touched her further down.

That reminded me of the discomfort she had felt. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"You didn't hurt me." She gave me a frown. "What about you? You looked like you were in pain."

I smiled. "No, it didn't hurt at all. It felt great."

"You know, this is the only birthday present I really wanted."

"So I should take Samurai back to the pet shop?" I teased.

"Don't you dare."

Just then there was a knock on the door and I nearly jumped off the bed when the doorknob rattled.

"Cloud? Why is the door locked?" It was Aeris.

Because I was making love to Tifa for the first time, that's why, and we needed some privacy. Go away. "Uh…I…I must have bumped the lock by accident." I slid off the bed and quickly went to retrieve my pajama bottoms.

"Have you seen Tifa? She was still asleep when I left her in my room and now she's gone."

"I'm in here, Aeris."

No! I could have strangled Tifa for opening up her mouth. "We're just talking," I quickly added as I slid into my pajamas and grabbed Tifa's teeshirt off the floor.

When I tossed it to her, she quickly slipped it on.

"Well, breakfast is ready," Aeris continued. "So, come downstairs now."

"Okay, be there in a minute." I sighed in relief when she was gone, but I waited another minute before unlocking the door and opening it. As Tifa walked passed me with a silly grin on her face, I reached down and smacked her in the ass.

That got rid of her smile as she turned and gave me a dirty look. Then she bumped into the wall and tripped on her own feet.

I snickered at her clumsiness and then noticed something on the floor. Her panties, the ones I had torn off. I picked them up and turned back to the doorway. "Tifa."

She turned back around and I tossed the panties to her.

After she was gone, I dug in a drawer for the pajama top that matched the bottoms and buttoned it on my way out and down the stairs.

When I passed the den I noticed it was tidy again, everything back in its place. I walked into the kitchen, following the scent of coffee.

Aeris was sitting at the kitchen table with Denzel and Marlene sitting side by side on the opposite side of her.

After exchanging the typical morning greetings, I took my usual place at the head of the table and reached to fill my plate with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.

Marlene started laughing at me.

"What're you laughing at, Squirt?"

"Your pajamas are buttoned wrong."

I looked down at myself and noticed I was one button off. "Shut up and eat your food or it's mine."

"Cloud!" scolded Aeris.

"What, I'm just joking."

Marlene continued to giggle so I reached under the table and tickled her leg. She squealed and tried to get away from my hand.

A couple minutes later Tifa walked into the kitchen, wearing the big teeshirt she had on earlier and the addition of pajama bottoms. "'Morning, everyone."

Everyone replied their greeting to her.

I watched her take a seat at the other end of the table, wishing she had put on a bra because I could see her nipples right through the teeshirt. Our eyes met and when she gave me a small smile, I couldn't help but smile back at her. Her cheeks quickly turned a pretty pink and she looked away to fill her plate.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Aeris looking first at Tifa and then at me. I quickly looked down at my plate to stab a slice of bacon.

"Cloud, can you please pass the milk?" asked Tifa.

My eyes bounced back up to her and I noticed she was still blushing. I smiled again as I handed the milk to Marlene, who handed it to Denzel, who handed it to Tifa.

"Thank you," said Tifa.

Aeris was looking at me again. What now? Did I have a booger on my face or something?

It was too damned quiet. Nobody was talking. What the hell was the matter with everyone? Usually Aeris was talking up a storm about everything. Maybe she was quiet because Tifa was around.

I glanced up at Tifa. She shoved a forkful of eggs into her mouth and when her eyes met mine, she quickly looked away again, unable to suppress her smile. When I looked at Marlene, she was giving me a funny look, so I crossed my eyes and made her giggle.

"Cloud, do you wanna play some video games?" asked Denzel, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, sure. Later."

For the next few minutes we continued to eat in silence. I couldn't help myself, every few seconds I'd casually look up from my plate and my eyes would wander over to Tifa. Tifa's eyes were wandering, too. We kept looking at each other, probably glowing from the aftereffects of some good sex. I know I was. But our little glances were becoming too obvious, at least to Aeris and Aeris was no dummy.

When Marlene and Denzel were done eating alittle while later, they asked to be excused and ran off when Aeris gave them permission.

I looked over at Tifa. "Don't forget, Tifa, Samurai has to go to the vet. Reno's taking us in the chopper in a half hour."

"I better go get ready then." She pushed away from the table. "Thanks for breakfast, Aeris, and all the work you did for my birthday party yesterday."

"It was no problem," replied Aeris with a smile.

My eyes followed Tifa as she got up and walked out of the kitchen. Her butt looked so damned good in those pajama bottoms. Wait a minute…those were my pajamas. Uh oh, Aeris was looking at me again and probably noticed my eyes on Tifa's butt. I tried to hide it by grabbing another piece of toast and taking a bite.

"Oh my Gods," Aeris suddenly gasped out. "You had sex with her, didn't you?"

I choked on the toast.

"That's what you two were doing up there before you came down."

I coughed until I got the toast particles out of my windpipe. "No…we were just…talking."

"How could you, Cloud? You're supposed to be protecting her, not fucking her."

"Hey! I'm not fucking her." Her comment really struck a nerve. I loved Tifa. I wasn't just using her for sex…not entirely. "It's not like that."

"Then explain to me what you think you're doing?"

"Tifa and I grew up together in Nibelheim."

She angrily folded her arms. "Yes, I had to find that out by reading it in the papers, but go on."

"Remember I said I couldn't remember things. Well, I got some of those lost memories back. I was head over heels in love with her back then. And…I'm…I'm still in love with her."

Aeris suddenly looked like I had just told her I was dying from some terminal disease. "Oh." She unfolded her arms and placed her hands on top of the table. "I see."

I wasn't sure what was going through her mind and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know.

When she looked back up at me, there were tears in her eyes. "I thought…" She looked back down and covered her face with her hands.

Oh, what the fuck…? I didn't think she'd burst into tears. She cried for almost a minute, even though it seemed like the longest minute in history, and I just sat there, not knowing what to say or do. But I had to say something before Tifa came back down and got the wrong idea. "Aeris, whatever I did, I'm sorry."

She removed her hands and looked at me with tear-filled eyes. "You're sorry?"

"Well, I don't even know what I did."

"You made me think you just needed some time to get your head together…that you'd eventually get it all out of your system and then settle down with me. ME!"

I stared at her with my mouth open. Dammit, why was everything so fucking complicated in my life? This was the last thing I expected to hear from Aeris. I thought she just wanted to be friends. "Aeris, I wasn't trying to give you that impression. I never said anything about settling down with anybody."

"I thought you loved me."

"I do." I looked down with a confused frown. "But not like that." The truth was that if Rufus had never sent me to protect Tifa, I might not ever have regained my memories of her. That meant I would have blindly gone anywhere with Aeris. Maybe I had given Aeris the impression I wanted to spend my life with her. But I knew now whatever I felt for her wasn't love at all. "What about Reno? I thought you and him…"

"Reno isn't permanent, Cloud."

Oh boy. I actually felt sorry for the guy. He confessed to me about really falling for Aeris. I considered the idea of telling him what she just told me. But I quickly shot it down. It wasn't my problem. They needed to work it out themselves.

"I don't know what to say, Aeris. I wish things could be different, but I really love Tifa."

Aeris wiped her eyes and reached across the table to place her hand over mine. "Cloud, all I've ever wanted was to see you happy."

I looked up at her. "I am happy. Ever since I came to Midgar after Zack died, I felt as if I was searching for some missing piece of my life. I'm pretty sure I've found it." I didn't think I needed to elaborate that it was Tifa I had been missing all along.

"I'm glad for you then," she said sadly.

I could tell she was still upset, but I didn't know what I could do to make it right with her. I couldn't return her feelings, which seemed wrong because only two weeks ago I had been pining for her to love me. Now I wished she didn't feel this way.

Way to go, Cloud. Making two girls cry within the span of a week. I really didn't need this shit. I had enough problems.

Well, one thing I was sure about, it couldn't possibly get any worse, right?

Please review! Thanks.

FYI, I'm going out of town this weekend and won't have access to the internet so I'll be late in replying to your reviews. If I get a chance tomorrow morning before we go, I might post the next chapter.