Fill My Blank Page
By request of Valentine'sNinja, here is the second part of a prompt-slash-giftfic. The prompt itself was a Zack/Tifa romance with Tifa as a witch and Zack as a witch hunter.
Yay! V-Ninja posted the first couple parts of her fic for me! It's a Cloud/Tifa called 'Coming Undone'! Go check it out! Well, it's rated 'M,' so only check it out if you're old enough.
I know I said I had this chapter almost done back in November, but let me just say that my semester got really rough then, and then the holidays came, I got my wisdom teeth removed, my new semester started, I got to writing the series for Blood, Sweat, and Tears… It's been a hectic time for me, but what matters is that this is here now, right? Enjoy!
Title and summary are lyrics of 'Cadence of Her Last Breath' by Nightwish.
Summary: Running for her life, the dark rain from her eyes still falls. Breathtaking butterfly chose a dark day to live.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, any of its spin-offs, or Nightwish.
***
Zack sighed and looked to his closest friend for the past six years. He rubbed his thumb on the edge of his tea mug and cleared his throat. The blond across the table looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "What is it, Zack?"
Zack sighed again and leaned forward on the table. "I don't get it, Cloud. Tifa's been living with us and been my girlfriend for two months now and you still treat her like some sort of monster. Why?"
Cloud raised his own mug to his lips briefly before answering. "It's not 'monster' so much as 'witch.'"
"Don't be ridiculous, Cloud! I might not have the strongest senses, but even I can sense a witch when she's right next to me!"
"What you say doesn't change what I sense. It's very faint, but the calling is still there."
Zack slammed his mug onto the table. "I don't believe what I'm hearing! Cloud, you serious?!"
His friend shrugged. "It's what I sense. Prove me wrong and I'll apologize then."
"God!" Zack stood from his seat, glaring at Cloud all the while. "I don't believe you!"
***
Tifa sat on the floor of the small clearing with a smile. "Okay, Marlene. Show me what you've learned so far."
The child before her picked a stick off the ground next to her and started to draw complicated and foreign runes into the dirt. She started to mumble vague enchantments, "Yeghsha nocta intrianis tobular…"
The symbols in the ground began to glow and a moment later, a small patch of flowers sprouted in the center of the carving.
Tifa smiled and nodded her approval. "Good job, Marlene! You've been doing so well!"
She smiled up at her teacher. "You think so, Tifa?"
"I know so." She stood up. "Come on, let's head home."
"Okay!" Marlene jumped to her feet and took Tifa's outstretched hand as they walked home together.
***
Zack pulled into a ready stance in the yard behind his home, holding his sword firmly for practice. He dropped it down to his side. This is pointless. I never fight, anyway… Maybe I should practice on honing my senses.
He sighed and let out a frustrated groan before turning to the house. Marching inside, he leaned his sword by the door and waited for Tifa and Marlene to come home. He'd talk to Tifa himself about what Cloud had said.
***
Tifa stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She walked over and rubbed a hole in the mirror out of the fog misting over it. Grabbing a comb, she started sorting through her hair and yanking all the knots out. She bit her lip, knowing full well that Zack and Cloud were both home and might be able to feel her. Digging into the center of her bundle of clothes, she pulled a small jar of ink and a thin-tipped paint brush from inside. She pulled her towel apart and examined the fading ink on her flat stomach.
She opened the jar and dipped her brush inside, slowly darkening the pattern painted on her body. With each rune she reapplied, she felt herself relax more and more. She knew full well that it was because of this spell on her belly that kept Zack and the others from sensing her true nature. Even Cloud, a purebred, hadn't been able to sense her beyond a feeling of uneasiness. He'd threatened her the first day they'd met, but without proof of who she was, he couldn't do a thing.
Tifa put her brush and ink away, setting her towel over her shoulders while the ink dried. Without warning, the door to the bathroom started to open and she gasped, pulling her towel around herself.
Zack walked a few steps in before realizing the bathroom was occupied and turned to slam the door while mumbling a rushed apology. "I'm sorry, Teef! I didn't mean to-! I didn't know you were in there!"
She kept her back turned, her body hidden by her towel, and her knees bent inward together in a slightly protective stance. The sound of Zack's footsteps faded down the hall and still she stayed in that position. It took a good ten minutes before she finally allowed herself to move, knowing it was almost game over for her. If Zack had seen the spell on her body, he never would've forgiven her.
***
The front door clicked shut as Cloud left to go on another one of his week-or-more searches where he wandered aimlessly until he located a witch. Zack sat back on the bed he and Tifa had started to share with his fingers crossed behind his neck. He started to doze off into a light sleep when a soft rap sounded from the front door. Zack pulled himself off the bed and headed for the lower level. Geez, Cloud… Didja forget your keys again?
He opened the door, puzzled to find a tall, pale-skinned man with long dark hair. They both stood in silence for a moment until Zack finally broke the ice with a scratch to the back of his head. "Um… Can I help you?"
The new man nodded slowly. "I am in search of a woman named Tifa. She is very dear to me and I can't seem to find her."
No one else, my ass! Zack crossed his arms and glared at the stranger. "If she's that important, why'd you let her get away?"
"We were separated. There was nothing I could do other than what I have done."
"Which is…?"
"Search town-by-town, knocking on doors and asking for her. If you have not seen her, then I shall take my leave of you." He nodded and turned to leave.
Zack sighed. "Oh, wait a sec! If you just-" He was cut off as a melodious voice filled the air, "Vincent! Is that really you?!"
Seconds later, Tifa appeared down the way, running towards the dark-haired man with Marlene struggling to keep up. She threw her arms around the man's neck and squeezed tightly. "Oh, Vincent! I never thought I would see you again!"
The other man, Vincent, set a hand on her back. "It does me great joy to see you well, Tifa. Now I can return to Shera's and Lucrecia's graves with good news."
She loosened her hold on him and looked down, still oblivious to Zack's presence. "I… tried to keep their memory. I hope they aren't angry with me…"
"They will be happy as long as you continue to live. They will not judge. Now come. We would be best to leave."
"But-! I have a home and friends here!"
Zack crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "Just friends, huh?"
Her attention snapped up to him, finally seeing him. "Zack, no! That's not what I meant! I…" She gestured between the two men. "Zack, this is Vincent. Vincent, this is Zack… He let me live here with him and his friends."
Vincent nodded once and extended a hand for Zack to take. "I must thank you for taking care of Tifa."
"Yeah…" Zack accepted the gesture and averted his gaze. "Take care of her, you hear?"
Tifa bit her lip with tears in her eyes. "Zack… What are you saying…?"
"You belong with Vincent. Go on. I know you want to be with him."
She looked back and forth between them. "I can't even come and visit you?"
"Listen to yourself! You knew from the beginning that these living arrangements were only temporary. Everything… here… was only temporary…"
"Zack… I… I don't want to leave you! Like Vincent said; Shera and Lucrecia will be happy if I just live my life… It doesn't matter to them who it's with…!"
"But you want Vincent, right?"
Tifa's eyes widened. "Zack, I-!"
Vincent coughed a laugh-like sound. "You misunderstand. You believe Tifa and I to be intimate, no?"
He scratched the back of his head. "You're not?"
"We are not. Tifa and her sisters saved my life years ago. I am more of a… brother to them."
"Seriously?"
Tifa nodded and, with tears still in her eyes, managed a soft smile. "Zack, I… You're the one I want to be with."
"So, ah…" Zack ran a hand through his hair. "What now? Do you live nearby, Vincent?"
"We live nowhere. My traveling companion and I have searched relentlessly for Tifa and have not bothered to find a home."
"Well, uh, there's not much room here, but I can sense you're a hunter, so if your friend is, too, we could make room…"
Vincent shook his head slowly. "My friend is not a hunter, nor would she be comfortable in this sort of abode."
"Oh, so you're friend is a girl…? I guess she can't be a hunter, then…"
Vincent gave a small smile. "Yes, that would be… unusual."
"So, ah, you want to come in? I bet you guys have a lot to catch up on."
"I do not think that is necessary. I believe, if Tifa does not mind, that we shall track our friend down and perhaps get some lunch."
Tifa smiled. "That sounds great, Vincent. Let me just get cleaned up and I'll be right down."
Zack stepped back and watched as she ran inside and up the stairs before turning back to Vincent. "So… you take care of her, alright?"
Vincent nodded once again. "Of course. I shall protect her with all I have. Especially after I failed with Shera and Lucrecia…"
"Ah… I get it…"
They stood in silence for a moment until Vincent spoke again, "You care deeply for her, don't you?"
Zack looked up at him. "Yeah, I do."
"Then it is I who should say 'take good care of her,' no?"
He gave a small laugh. "Me an' Tifa aren't there just yet, but I will, anyway. No worries, man."
"Did you not say you care for her?"
"Well, yeah, but I haven't… I haven't told her yet."
"I see. Then I will not speak of this with her. I will trust you, one hunter to another."
"Great!"
Tifa's voice sounded behind him. "Hey, Vincent, I'm all set!"
Zack turned to face her, a smile growing as he took in her beauty. "Take care, Teef."
She walked up next to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I will. You, too, Zack. Don't forget, it's Marlene's bath time."
"Yeah, yeah, Teef. I know. I've been helping her with her baths for a long time before you came!" He pulled her against his body in a tight hug and kissed her hair before moving down to take her lips.
She kissed him back, angling her neck to breech the variance in height. Pulling back slowly, she smiled up at him with a look full of beauty and innocence. "I'll be back later, Zack. Before bed, if nothing else."
"Alright. You guys have fun!"
Tifa looked back over her shoulder as she walked off with Vincent. "We will!"
***
She passed through the town, walking beside Vincent as he led her towards the mountains. Tifa followed him as he trudged along the barren paths, turning to clamber up a rough patch and into a small, naturally made tunnel in the mountainside. Tifa followed him, the distinct voice of their mutual friend shouting, "'Bout time, Vince! I've been bored outta my mind in here!"
Tifa smiled despite herself and called out to the younger witch, "Yuffie? Is that you?"
A screech came as her reply, "Tifa!?!?!? I can't believe it! You're okay! Vincent said hunters were in there! I guess the spell worked, huh? How've you been? Where've you been staying? How long have you been here? Were you lonely without me?"
Tifa laughed, never once sick of her chatterbox friend's insistent questioning. "I've been fine, Yuffie. I've been staying with some friends that saved me."
"Oh, are you alright? I mean, you didn't run into any hunters, didja?"
"Um… Not literally…"
"What does that mean, Tifa?"
"It means that the man who saved me is a hunter and so are all of his friends."
Yuffie's jaw hit the floor. "Are you crazy!? What sort of insane witch lives right under a hunter's nose?"
Her eyes looked to the ground. "One who's given her heart to a hunter."
"What the hell, Tifa? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?!"
"Of course I do, Yuffie!"
"So why in the name of all things holy are you still there?!"
"Because…" She raised her eyes back to Yuffie's. "I… care about him. I just want to be with him."
"Oh, geez. This just gets better and better."
"I'm fine. I have the invisibility spell… He never has to know."
"Oh, and what'll you tell him when you're ready to get naked? That it's just a tribal marking?"
"Yuffie! That… That's not entirely false…"
"But will he believe you?"
"Yuffie, that's… We just won't ever get naked."
"Oh… Good luck with that one. He's a man, Tifa. A man. They can't live forever without sex. No offense, Vince."
His eyebrows rose simultaneously. "None taken."
Tifa felt tears prick at her eyes. "I know I'm in trouble, Yuffie. I don't need you to tell me."
"Tifa… All I'm saying is that you're nuts."
"I know, Yuffie. I know!" She turned and ran from their small hideaway, climbing down the rock and running for town.
***
Zack knelt by the tub, absent-mindedly shampooing Marlene's hair while his mind wandered to Tifa. For the third time that night, Marlene reached up and pushed the soap away from her eyes. "Zack? Can you focus a little more? I don't really want to go blind at the age of seven."
He looked down. "Oh, sorry, Marlene. I've just been thinking."
"What're you thinking about?"
"Ah, nothing."
"Come on, Zack. You can tell me…" She looked up at him with big, brown, puppy-dog eyes.
He resisted for a moment before giving in. "Oh, fine! I was thinking about Tifa."
She grinned. "I knew it."
"How?!"
"Because Tifa gets that same look when she thinks about you."
Zack felt his heart soar. "Really?"
She nodded once, and then reached up to push more soap back. "Yeah. Why? Is it important?"
"Yeah!"
"Why?"
"Because it mean Tifa likes me as much as I like her!"
The little girl gave him a confused expression. "Okay…"
"It's a big important adult thing, okay? You have a few more years before you have to worry."
She shrugged. "Okay. Can you get this shampoo out of my hair now?"
***
Tifa ran all the way home, not really sure what to do after that. Zack would ask why she'd been crying. She shivered in the fall weather and decided it didn't matter. She pulled the screen door open and walked inside, pausing to pull her boots off before wandering into the living room. She fell onto the couch without noticing that Zack was already on it. Her face made contact with his leg and his hand in her hair only made her cry harder. He stroked her brown tresses lovingly and spoke with worry in his tone, "Tifa? Are you alright? What happened?"
Her tears came faster as she buried her face in his thigh. "Z-Zack… I…"
His hand smoothed over her with more and more tenderness. "Tifa, what's wrong? I can't help unless you tell me what's wrong…"
"I can't tell you, Zack… Please, just…"
"Tifa, you still can't trust me? What do I have to do to prove it to you?"
"It's not that, Zack… I trust you too much. I just… I need you…"
"I need you, too, Teef."
She shook her head back and forth against his thigh. "I need you to…"
"Shh… Teef…" He set his hands under her arms and lifted her into his lap, gently whispering into her ear. "It's okay, Teef. Everything will be just fine. There's… something I have to tell you, Teef. I guess now isn't the best time, but…"
She sniffled against his shoulder and croaked out, "Zack…?"
He swallowed, gathering all his courage. "I…" He sighed as he lost his nerve. "It's nothing, Tifa."
Her eyes, still full of tears, rose to look into his. "Zack…?"
"Shh… Don't say anything. Just… calm down, okay? Can you tell me why you're crying?" He pressed a kiss to her hair and ran his fingers through the dark tresses.
"I-I can't…"
"Promise me you'll tell me someday?"
"Y-Yeah…"
He cracked the tiniest of smiles. "You promise?"
"I promise…"
"Good." He pulled himself to his feet, holding Tifa securely in his arms. "Come on, let's go to bed."
"O-Okay…"
***
Zack woke up in the twin-sized bed with Tifa nowhere to be found. He climbed out of bed and wandered downstairs to find Reeve sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in his hands. He looked up at Zack and laughed. "Good Lord, man! You look like you were run over by a hoard of Cloud's fangirls!"
Zack paused with his hand on the door to the refrigerator. "Cloud has fangirls? Why have I never heard about this?"
"Because you never leave the house anymore unless it's with Tifa; and when you're with her, it's as though all other women don't even exist."
Zack scratched the back of his head. "So why does Cloud have a fanclub?"
"Because he goes out and risks life and limb to fight witches and, according to the girls of the town, looks 'incredibly hot in doing so.'"
Zack nodded slowly. "Ah. Gotcha. New subject, Reeve. Please."
The bearded man laughed. "Of course. I find it a bit disturbing myself. Anyway, you look like a wreck. You do know you slept until two in the afternoon, right?"
Zack looked up at the clock on the wall. "Holy… So Tifa already left with Marlene, then?"
Reeve hummed his response against the rim of his mug, "Mm-hm…"
"Crap."
"Why?"
"She was upset when she came in yesterday… An' I wanted to know how she was doing today…"
"Mm. I think she and Marlene were in the forest if you wanted to go see them."
"I might do that." He grinned as he poured himself juice. "Thanks, Reeve."
"Of course."
***
Tifa sat with Marlene in their clearing, showing her how to etch runes for a recovery spell. She moved a stick through the dirt, demonstrating each step for the spell. Marlene watched intently, memorizing each motion.
Tifa smiled as she finished and mumbled the brief incantation to accompany the runes. A moment later, the injured bird they'd found perked up and, with a brief look at Tifa, turned and flew away.
Marlene watched it fly away while grinning from ear-to-ear. "Wo-ow! That was so cool! Teach me! Teach me! Teach me!"
"Teach you what?"
Tifa looked up as Zack pushed his way into the clearing with a smile of his own. She managed a weak smile and stood, discretely trying to rub the runes out of the dirt with her foot. "Hi, Zack… What brings you here?"
He grinned wider and said, "I just woke up a minute ago and decided to see what you were up to."
"Oh, not much. I was just showing Marlene a few things about nature." She prayed to the heavens that her voice didn't carry the fear she felt.
Marlene jumped forward. "You just missed it, Zack! Tifa just brought the birdie back from the dead!"
Tifa managed a small chuckle. "Marlene, the bird wasn't dead… He was sick. I just fed him and helped him get back on his feet."
Zack's grin widened. "Aw, that was sweet of you, Tifa."
She managed a weak smile as he made his way over to Marlene and bent down. "Hey, there, kiddo. What are you doing here?"
Tifa made slashing motions over her throat when she realized there were still runes etched in front of the child. She got the hint and said, "I was just drawing pictures. Aren't they pretty, Zack?"
His grin faded a tad when he realized what exactly Marlene had drawn. "Hey… These are…" He looked up at the woman present, knowing the young witch couldn't have known what runes were without someone to show her. "…Tifa?"
She felt her throat grow dry and struggled for something, anything, to say. "Um, Zack… I can explain!"
His Adam's apple shifted as he swallowed his spit. "You're… a witch… aren't you? Cloud was right… I can't believe it…"
"Zack, I…"
"Tifa, why… Why did you lie to me? Are you here to get inside of our group and kill us?"
"No, Zack! I would never-!"
"Then why?"
"I… It was pure coincidence. I…"
"Don't give me that! I… I trusted you… I loved you. But you… you…"
"Zack, please!"
He turned on his heel and started walking. "Don't you dare set foot in my house again. One of us will kill you if you do. Maybe Barret, Reeve, an' me have all come t think of you as a friend, but I know Cloud wouldn't hesitate."
She felt her tears start to drift down her cheeks and her knees buckle out beneath her. "Zack, wait…! I love you…!"
I'm so sorry, V-Ninja… It takes me so long to finally update and I give you this… I fail so epically, it hurts. Ah, well. I promise things will get better in the next chapter. This is rated teen, so they won't get that much better, but it'll still get better. I've decided that this will probably be three chapters and an epilogue, unless I can't think of enough for the next chapter. In which case, I'll just include the epilogue into the next chapter, but I'm looking at four chapters right now.
Please review!
-Valk