A/N: Third chapter, yay! Lol. Please read, review, enjoy!
Ch. 3 --- Moments of Love
It's funny, the things you realize when you're close to someone. Like, how I became all too aware of those moments when Tifa would brush my arm or hand in an effort to get my attention – which, then, was undivided. I became aware of the way she spoke to me, in a tone of voice that I had never heard her use with anyone else, somewhere between sweet and soothing, between playful and reserved, as if she was frightened of putting too much pressure on me to reply. I understood that, because I had been silent for... a long time, anyway. I started noticing little things when I would watch her, like the frustratingly amused look she'd give the children when they'd knocked something over or scraped a knee. What I noticed most of all, though, was that as more and more days passed, the look of terror that she gave me every once in a while faded and made its appearance less frequently. I think I was slowly proving to her, just by my presence, that I wasn't going anywhere.
Weeks later, life was, to say the least, comfortable. We didn't hide anything anymore, and there was no need to push Tifa away. I didn't want to think of it in a cheesy, mushy way, but I was truthfully falling in love with all three of them. When I did make a delivery, which didn't happen nearly as frequently as before, I hurried home, missing Tifa and the kids desperately. Of course, the love was split in two very different kinds: fatherly love, and... a love like I hadn't believed before that I could feel, or that could even exist.
I wasn't sure, looking back on it, whether there was an exact moment that signified that I was in love with Tifa or not. She had been my best friend for years... and the only one who never gave up on me or doubted me... and more. It had deepened for me, turning my avoidance of emotion into an open and uninhibited camaraderie with her, turning my admiration of her into adoration, my respect for her into pure, untouchable love. But there were moments when it seemed inescapable, wonderful, and true.
Once, she was telling me something; we were having a (albeit, somewhat one-sided) conversation about something, and I was watching her, barely paying attention to the words. I was absorbed by the way her mouth moved as she retold some story about the children or other, by the way she leaned comfortably against the counter as she spoke to me, and by the tiny way her nose twitched when she laughed. She noticed, and, though not angry, she wanted my attention, so she reached over and grabbed my chin gently, forcing me to look into her eyes. I blinked at her, caught unawares, and she laughed at me. "Cloud, do you have any idea what we're talking about?" she'd laughed at me. I grimaced. Of course I didn't; I'd been watching her too closely, but I couldn't help laughing with her. I had never felt more at ease with someone than then, and it brought into sharp relief all that I had just noticed I felt for her.
There was another time, another moment, perhaps a month or so after the orphans were cured, that I had just walked in the door from a delivery and was momentarily terrified because Tifa was nowhere in sight. The house was quiet, and though my sensitive ears could pick up the pitter-patter of one of the kids' little feet, I didn't see or hear Tifa. Immediately, instinctively, I panicked, racing up the stairs and calling her name, hoping that she was all right.
I felt the fool when moments later, she came out of the kids' bedroom, giggling and flushed, but unharmed, and said that she'd just been playing with Denzel and Marlene. I sighed, trying to calm my racing heart and feeling the cold panic fade away. Something serious came into her eyes, the eyes I found so beautiful and mysterious, as she said, "Don't worry, Cloud. I'm fine... we're not going anywhere." I think that was when I started to truly believe it, and for the first time in a long – long – time, Tifa hugged me. Again, I felt self-conscious, unsure as to what to do, but when I embraced her in return, I felt more warm and at home than ever before. I got even more warm, particularly around the collar, when Denzel and Marlene came around the corner and giggled at our hug.