Chibi: Again, some editing occurring here. Hope you enjoy.

Three

"They … they left us."

The statement hung in the air between the three of us. It had slipped out of Zack's mouth but it was what all three of us were thinking. They had actually left us on the side of the motorway. They had just driven off, not even a backwards glance. Yuffie, my best friend, had chosen Kadaj Shinra over me. She had chosen that asshole over me? Though, to be honest, when looking at how we were gonna have to walk and the shoes she and I were wearing, I didn't really blame her. For all I knew, she could have only been getting in the van because she wanted a lift home. Because now, Zack, Cloud and I had a two hour walk ahead of us, and the daylight was rapidly fading around us. Add the fact that I was wearing extremely high heels, and you've pretty much got a nightmare staring you in the face.

We stood around for a bit, unsure of what to do, or say, until finally, Zack cursed loudly and kicked at a can on the floor. It shot over the road, bounced off a car bonnet that was zooming past, and landed on the other side of the road. The driver of the car gesticulated angrily but carried on driving. Zack sighed, and then straightened up from his hunched position.

"Come on," he muttered. "Let's start walking." He strode off, almost marching angrily, his arms rigid and his legs fast and powerful. Cloud and I immediately followed him like a pair of sheep, or obedient dogs, following our master; the one we thought had all the answers, all the ideas. In my experience, Zack had always had a great idea, a plan. He was just that kind of guy. But right now, he seemed to be groping wildly in the air for his answers, no plan obvious except to walk the two hour journey home. And seeings as Cloud and I didn't have a better idea, it looked like we were gonna follow him home.

It started to rain. I began to shiver, because even though I was wearing Zack's jumper I was essentially just wearing a skimpy dress. I hugged myself, tripping over the ground and my own feet. Not for the first time that day, I cursed Yuffie and the stupid power she seemed to hold over me. What on earth had made me go with her today? How stupid was I to agree to go in a van to Midgar with a guy who was renowned for being a stupid drugged asshole, and was generally known for being a smarmy pervert? And why, why, why had I agreed to wear these stupid shoes? My drunken state had pretty much worn off now, and the cold, hard hitting reality of sobriety was hammering painfully into my head. Things seemed realistic when you were drunk. When you were sober, they seemed hopeless.

I tripped again, and this time I wasn't really able to catch myself, or stop myself from falling, and I would have fallen flat on my face if someone hadn't grabbed my arm. I found myself suspended in the air, the ground just in front of my face. I turned my head, seeing Cloud's almost unreadable face near mine. I felt red stain my cheeks embarrassingly at his closeness, and limply allowed him to pull me upwards.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I … I think so. I think I've twisted my ankle, though …" I mumbled. It certainly ached, and sparks of pain flashed up my leg when I tried to stand on both feet. Cloud looked at my ankle like it was a confusing advert on the television, and deciding he had no expertise in his area, looked forward to where my brother was still storming on down the side of the motorway, twitching with every curse he muttered.

"Zack," he called. Zack turned, saw us standing still and jogged back to us.

"What is it?" he asked when he had reached us. I felt like the epitome of damsel in distress, and a failure to females everywhere, but I knew I was going to have to ask for some help from my brother. I felt embarrassed, and pretty much pathetic.

"I've twisted my ankle," I mumbled. "It hurts."

"Oh," he said in surprise. "Get on my back then. I'll carry you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course. But come on, it's getting dark …" I nodded, and once he had crouched down in front of me I somewhat awkwardly climbed onto his back, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I worried about the weight, and was about to protest and jump off again, but Zack straightened up and strode on easily. Cloud matched his pace, and they began to practically power walk down the motorway.

"Jeez, Tifa," he muttered. "Put some weight on. You feel way too light."

The rain continued to fall in sharp lashes that felt like slices from a knife. The motorway eventually petered out into normal country road, and then the road was reduced to a dirt track that led through the woods. I knew that on the other side of those woods was Gongaga, so as the boys began to trudge through the foliage, fallen branches and mud, I let myself relax, knowing we would be home soon. My feet throbbed in my shoes, my arms ached from holding on to Zack so tightly and my eyes were tired from trying to stay open. I knew Zack must have been exhausted – carrying your fifteen year old sister for two miles had to be pretty trying, no matter how strong you were, but every time I asked him if he needed me to get down, or Cloud offered to carry me and give my brother a break, Zack simply shook his head, trudging onward silently. For a long time, the only sound was his and Cloud's breathing – his slightly laboured, Cloud's easy.

The rain couldn't touch us much whilst we were walking in the welcoming shelter of the trees, so we revelled in the cool darkness the trees provided. When I looked up through the branches above us, I could see the moon, a brand new sliver that was slowly waxing.

"What time is it?" I asked. It was definitely night time by now. The stars twinkled weakly at us through the trees, letting us know that we were definitely in the country and on the rural road now. I wondered if there were stars in Midgar. Well, of course there were stars, but I couldn't help wondering if they were visible. I wondered if Zack had missed the stars when he was there. Maybe that was one of the reasons he came home.

"Late," Cloud mumbled, his illuminated phone screen strangely alien-like in the darkness of the night and the forest.

"Aerith will be worried," Zack muttered. That seemed to be some sort of resolve for him, and I could feel him pushing harder, desperate to get home to her. I didn't blame him. In fact, I kind of wished I had someone like he had to want to get home to. All I was gonna have waiting for me was a sleeping father and a pile of old books, asking to be read. And a warm, inviting bed, of course. Sleep was most definitely beckoning me now.

The trees gave out, the branches, moss and mud became a simple dirt track, and houses were visible. I could see the old reactor, the mountain we had climbed so many times, and the pub which was teaming with life as per usual. If this had been any other night, I would have happily wagered all of my money in my bank account that Zack would have been in there, happily drinking whiskey and entertaining the crowd with his amusing stories and jokes. Right now, the happy, jolly entertainer that liked his whiskey aged and neat was finally stumbling with fatigue, his shoulders slumped and his breathing slow. We made our way past the pub towards our house, which had only two windows illuminated, and were just stumbling up the front path, past the motorcycle and battered car, when we heard her.

"Tifa!"

Zack turned, and put me down on the ground. My feet and ankle flared up immediately with the contact, and I gratefully kicked the shoes that had tortured me all day long off. I picked them up in my hand, revelling in the coolness of the stony path beneath my sore, blistered feet, and looked up to see Yuffie, still wearing the same outfit as earlier, but her hair was mussed and her sunglasses were nowhere to be seen. I briefly wondered if her hair was messy because she had been running her fingers through it in worry about us, and then almost snorted aloud at my own stupidity. This was Yuffie. She didn't worry about others. She always looked out for number one. Number one was, of course, Yuffie Kisaragi. Not Tifa Fair.

"Tifa, I'm … I'm so sorry." She stumbled forwards, leaving the inviting and warm looking glow that had spilled out from the doorway to the pub and venturing tentatively towards me and into the darkness that was reality, which nearly swallowed her up.

"I just needed a lift home … and I guess I'd had too much to drink, so my judgment was impaired … is that the saying? But I'm sorry, really …"

"It's been raining. It took us two hours to get here. Zack had to carry me."

"I know, and I wish now that I had stayed with you, I've been feeling so guilty …" For a moment, I thought she was being completely sincere, and I was surprised. I wondered if she had changed a bit since I had gone on holiday, and I felt happy, I understood, I felt ready to forgive her…but then, true to her style, she pulled out a sentence that was so unbelievably Yuffie that I almost slapped my forehead in my irritation.

"But you know … you kinda brought it on yourself … Loz wasn't really doing anything wrong … you should have just stayed where you were. And that Cloud guy didn't really make things better by punching him …" I groaned inwardly. I gave up. I was too tired for an argument.

"Yeah … I guess you're right. Well, gotta go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right … I'm glad you're okay though. Sleep well." She stepped forward and hugged me tightly, and I breathed in her familiar scent of cigarettes, rum and coke.

I turned, and went into the house, fatigue almost forcing me to lie down and sleep on the doorstep. With a huge effort, I stepped over the threshold, and was immediately wrapped up in the rose scented embrace of Aerith.

"Are you okay? I've been so worried …"

For the first time that day, I managed to smile weakly. So someone did care, then. I leant against her, for comfort and to keep me upright, please that Zack had brought this wonderful, caring girl into my life.

"I'm okay … Zack carried me home. What a hero, right?"

And with that, I broke away from her very comforting embrace, and wearily poked my head around the door of the kitchen. Zack and Cloud were already settling in, Zack pouring whiskey into two glasses and Cloud resting his chin on the palm of one hand, propped up by his elbow on the table. They looked completely exhausted. In fact, they looked just like I felt.

"Night," I murmured. "And, you know … thanks."

"No problem," they both mumbled in unison, taking a sip from their respective tumblers. "Sleep tight …"

I resignedly heaved myself up the stairs on my poor, blistered feet, bidding Aerith a final sleepy goodnight, which had a look of total relief painted over her delicate features, and stumbled into my room. I threw my shoes into the corner of the room, wishing never to see them again, and stripped down to my knickers, casting every other item of clothing to the floor. I pulled on the comfortingly familiar paisley pyjama bottoms, yanked a nice baggy t-shirt of Zack's over my head, and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep instantly. I didn't even manage to get under the covers.

A few hours later, or so it felt, it could have been a few minutes or a huge amount of time later, I felt someone pulling the covers up over me, and a peck on my forehead. I felt the soft scratchiness of Zack's stubble, and managed to mumble a thank you.

"You're a good girl, Tifa," he whispered, and left the room. I thought of the excessive alcohol I had drunk, thought of the people I had hung around with and the places I had gone, the outfit I had worn and the money I had stolen from Dad and shamelessly spent, all in one day. I thought of all the stuff I had got up to that year, since Zack had moved to Midgar that he didn't know about, the stuff Yuffie and I had been doing in secret all these years, that he also didn't know about. I wished I could erase it all. And I wished with all my heart that I was a good girl, like Zack seemed to think.

Chibi: Thanks for reading. As usual, a review would be nice please!