Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy 7 any of it's characters and/or references.

Sorry for this chapter taking so long, I'm supposed to have at least two or three more chapters of this fic here already, sorry.

Chapter 4:

…Prelude…

Cloud and Tifa had gotten up early in order to prepare for their journey to Costa del Sol, at first Cloud had tried calling Cid to see if he could pick them up with the Highwind but unfortunately all calls made went unanswered. Tifa saw Cloud's enthusiasm, though he tried to hide it, she saw right through it, of course this also brought about a familiar fear. She did her best not to think about it, it was Cloud after all, since they couldn't get in touch with Cid and Cloud wanting to arrive before the opening ceremony they did the next thing they could think off, they rented a car.

Cloud had spent most of the morning packing and getting ready for the trip, Tifa had been in the kitchen preparing the meals they would eat on their journey. As she did this she couldn't help but appreciate how things had matured, it seemed to be becoming natural for both Cloud and herself to be living together, if only he know about the child that was growing inside of her. At the thought of this she couldn't help but rub her hand over her still flat stomach.

Finally everything was ready and after closing their house they both took off towards Costa del Sol. The car they rented wasn't very lavish, it was similar to the one they used during their travels which meant it had a lot of space. Cloud was in the driver's seat and Tifa sitting beside him. They journeyed in the company of each other's silence, as they came ever closer to their destination however Tifa was becoming more and more nervous the farther they progressed. There was a strange looming sensation she was feeling, she couldn't explain it, it was like a premonition that something either bad or good was ahead of them. Her troubled expression however didn't go unnoticed; soon Cloud pulled the car aside for them to have a break.

Tifa got out of the car and went to the rear, Cloud followed her, she opened a large plastic container and took out to halves of sandwiches she had made, she gave Cloud one and kept the other. The blond-haired male took it gently from her hand. She turned away from him as she started to eat; however as she did, she felt his arm comfortably rest on her shoulder.

"Are you feeling okay?" Cloud asked, "If you're feeling carsick, maybe you shouldn't eat."

Tifa turned to face Cloud, her lips curled into a smile but her eyes still had sorrow hidden behind them, "It's alright Cloud," Tifa replied, "It's not carsickness, I'm just a little overwhelmed that's all."

"Overwhelmed?" Cloud had both concern and sincerity in his voice.

"Yes it's just everything that's happened in the past month, things are just going really fast," Tifa explained, as she finished she turned away from him and brought one hand and rested it on her exposed stomach.

Cloud could see Tifa was deep in thought, trying to find of a way to comfort her, she stepped closer. Tifa was surprised when she felt his hand snake its way around her waist.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Don't worry about it," He spoke softly into her ear.

The vibration of his voice sent shivers down her spine, briefly quelling the desire she had for him. He released his grip on her and turned her to face him.

"Tifa, if you want we don't have to go, we can turn back around and head back to Icicle Inn right now," he told her.

Tifa shook her head in opposition, even if they did go back, a part of Cloud would still want to be at the tournament, but still the kind gesture he made helped to lighten her mood. Tifa moved away from him and walked back to the passenger side.

"Don't just stand there, hurry up or we'll be late!" Tifa nearly shouted.

Cloud smiled inwardly, he was glad she agreed to continue the journey, a part of him was like a child on Christmas eve, he could barely wait to arrive at Costa del sol and enter into the tournament, but on the other hand he was also worried about his female companion, and the worry far outweighed his anxiousness. He felt as if he had forced this decision upon her but now it seemed she approved. Cloud entered back into the car, Tifa was already comfortably seated in the seat next to him. Once he started the car they continued their journey.

They had to cross a continent in order to reach Costa del sol, Cloud had stopped several times during the day for Tifa to get out and stretch her legs, however once nightfall came, he suggested getting an Inn but Tifa protested saying that they could drive through the night since it was only the both of them. She offered to take turns driving while the other slept, of course once she had fallen asleep Cloud didn't wake her back up, he had left her alone to her slumber and he drove through the night.

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Tifa opened her eyes slowly, she felt something warm and fluffy beneath her, as well as a warm blanket over her, once her mind had registered she shot up quickly only to realize that she wasn't in the car they had both rented but in a well decorated Inn room. There were two beds in the room, both with thick white comforters, two windows on the wall next to her with red curtains in front of them. One of the doors opened and a shirtless Cloud came into the room, Tifa was still startled by the new scenery to take in the blond-haired warrior nakedness.

"Cloud, what's going on!?" Tifa proclaimed, "Why are we in an Inn?"

"Calm down Tifa," Cloud replied, "We reached here early this morning, so I rented us a room for the night."

"Here, you mean…" Tifa was cut off.

"Yeah we're in Costa del sol," the blue-eyed male finished.

"You drove all night!?" Tifa questioned.

Cloud replied by shaking his head. As they were speaking he had crept closer to her bed, now he was standing right beside her, as they finished he sat down next to her.

"How are you feeling?" Cloud asked.

Tifa shook her head, "I'm fine," She replied.

Cloud eyes had a hard time holding her gaze, they kept wandering all over her, he felt a little guilty at some of the places they went but tried his best to hide it, but one place where his eyes occasionally found themselves were her beautiful pink lips, he couldn't help himself, they looked both perfect and kissable. In fact it was taking all his self control right at this moment not to lean forward and taste them. Perhaps it was because he had tasted them once before and found them intoxicating that they held his attention so.

"Cloud are you listening to me?" Tifa questioned.

Cloud broke out of his trance and his eyes returned to hers, he fortunately didn't see the brief smirk in Tifa's lips when he snapped at attention.

"I asked when does registration begin?" Tifa asked.

"Oh sorry about that," Cloud replied awkwardly scratching the back of his head, "Today actually."

"Oh," Tifa replied, she got up off the bed, "I'll go get ready then we can go register."

Cloud misinterpreted Tifa's words and quickly replied: "huh? You're gonna register also?"

"No, no, no," Tifa quickly protested, maybe if she wasn't carrying their child in her womb she might have considered if, if for nothing else than to have an opportunity to fight against Cloud, but there was absolutely not chance she was partaking now, "I mean we'll go together to get you registered."

"Oh sorry," Cloud replied scratching the back of his head once again.

Tifa was finished in about half and hour and exited the bathroom completely dressed in her usual outfit; her usual white tank top and short back pants that reached to her knees as well her usual brown boots. Cloud was also finished dressed when she came out, in the SOLDIER uniform minus the large belt and shoulder guard they usually wore.

As they stepped outside the Inn they were both greeted by the harsh tropical sun, a stark contrast to their snowy home they had quickly grown accustomed to.

"Where do we have to go to register?" Tifa asked.

"There," Cloud replied pointing to a large circular foundation in the distance. Tifa shielded her eyes from the sun to look at the structure.

"hmm, did Dio build that?" Tifa asked.

"Seems that way," Cloud replied.

The blond-haired swordsman then took his female companion by her hand and started pulling her along with him. At first he jerked Tifa a bit, but Tifa quickly caught on and caught up easily, she couldn't help but smile; Cloud can act like such a child at times. The locals weren't as covered as Cloud was but dressed similarly to Tifa, in that they were few articles of clothing and they weren't very long or thick, but one thing Cloud didn't appreciation were the numerous amounts of glances that were directed at Tifa, Tifa however didn't seem to notice or maybe she did but didn't care, either way it still left a bad taste in Cloud's mouth, the sooner they reached their destination the better it would be. The streets were also more crowded than usual; this was due to the new coliseum tournament beginning shortly. Finally after navigating through the sea of people they both arrived at the entrance, however two armored guards in front the entrance stopped them.

"Halt!" One of guards shouted.

"What's your business here?" The other guard asked.

"We're here to see Dio," Cloud replied and he released Tifa's hand in the process.

"Name?" The guard asked.

"Cloud Strife," Cloud answered.

One of the guards moved closer to the other and whispered into him, "Is that him?"

"Well he certainly does match the description, but there's one way to make sure," the other guard replied. He then stepped forward and inspected Cloud closely, or more specifically Cloud's eyes, once he saw the green mako ring, he automatically backed off, "Yes that's definitely him," The guard whispered to his companion.

But the other guard was didn't heed his companion's words he was to busy staring at Tifa. Tifa felt awkward in such a position and hid behind Cloud.

"Alright," The first guard said, "Take the first staircase on the right and proceed straight up to reach Dio's lounge."

Cloud bowed briefly in respect and proceeded past him, Tifa followed, not bothering to acknowledge the guard who was still staring her down. Following the directions given they soon arrived in front of the lounge door. Slowly Cloud opened the door, when they entered they were greeted by a sight they didn't expect. In front of then several other members of Crisis Avalanche sat. There were two sofas running parallel to each other Barret and Cid sat on one sofa, Yuffie was on the other, in between both sofas was a glass coffee table, Red XIII sat at the north side, Vincent was propped up against a wall with his head lowered and eyes closed.

"What?" Cloud asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Glad you can make it spiky," Barret immediately spoke.

"Oh welcome, we were wondering if you were going to come," A new voice said but with an annoying accent.

Cloud and Tifa looked ahead to see a well built man in his early forties and barely dressed standing at the north end of the room.

"Dio?" Cloud asked calmly in his usual calm voice.

"Ahh, Cloud, the guest-of-honor, you may have passed last time, but this time it's different, you won't be competing against monsters but other competitors," Dio explained.

"What!?" Tifa exclaimed.

"That's right and two of your fellow members of Crisis Avalanche have already registered," Dio went on to explain.

Barret stood up and brought up his new gun arm, except it was different from a normal gun arm, in that it appeared like an artificial metal arm, Vincent responded by nodding.

"Guys?" Cloud asked.

"Guess we'll be seeing ya in the tournament," Barret commented.

"Barret? And Vincent too?" Tifa asked, "Just how many people are in this tournament?"

"All who pass the qualifications, I've even heard that some were former members of SOLDIER," Dio went on to explain.

This statement immediately caught Cloud's attention, "SOLDIER?" He asked.

But the word didn't only reach Cloud's ear, it reached everyone in the room, but they all hid their true emotions. Tifa however hid hers the best she could, the more she kept hearing the more she grew to dislike this new tournament.

"Well, Cloud I take it you would be participating in it as well?" Dio asked.

Cloud shook his head, his way to saying yes.

"Good, good, well then I'll leave you all to get reacquainted, remember this 1st ever tournament starts in one week, so train and rest all you can, cause once it begins one only one will be crowned victor," Dio explained.

Everyone took in the explanation in silence, all lost in their own thoughts, Tifa's however were the most disturbed and filled with the most worry, she didn't want Cloud to participate in the fight now more than ever, after everything she heard it sounded dangerous too dangerous, it made her faith in him waver. The thought of him being injured and leaving her behind was too great. She tried no to dwell on it but they fear from what she heard kept manifesting them. How would she go on without him? And since when was she so dependent on him? She had not always been like this, she was always independent and outgoing, but when it came to Cloud…when it came to the spiky-haired, cerulean-eyed boy, things always changed...she always changed; she had once abandoned all of her friends and also their journey to stay by his side even though there was a great chance he would never recover. Just to be near him, to feel his presence filled her with an unexplainable bliss and comfort, he also made her weak, robbed her of her strength and Tifa hated the person she became when she was around him, it wasn't her, she wasn't some love-sick school girl; though her actions proved the opposite.

And now with this dangerous tournament on the horizon, and another week she had to wait…time was passing quickly too quickly, eventually they would all know one way or another. She had to tell Cloud, she always forged the resolve before talking to him, but whenever she confronted him, it would always weaken like a sharpened blade becoming rusted.

'Since when did I become such a coward?' The ruby-eyed, raven-haired beauty thought to herself.

To Be Continued…

Again sorry for the delay, I finished this chapter a while back, but well it got hung up, I'm supposed to have more chapters finished but things have just been a spiderweb recently and it's really killing my drive to write, I'm trying to overcome that problem. But anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to get the next out sooner but no promises. So tell me what do you think?