"She told me she didn't want Genesis to find Sephiroth." Zack said stubbornly. "And she said she didn't know about any other living Turks."
"Then how did she get Reno's number?" Cloud asked.
"Rufus probably gave it to her." Reno muttered. "He had all our numbers."
"I hate that guy." Zack hissed angrily. "He was always telling me to call him President even though his father was the President and not him. But now, apparently, he is!"
"Um, Cloud?" Tifa asked cautiously. Zack snapped out of his rant and looked over. Cloud looked up and nodded for her to continue. "Can I uh, talk to you for a minute?" she jerked her head towards the door and raised an eyebrow, waiting. Cloud frowned but nodded and stood up.
"Sure." he said.
The two of them walked from the room and Tifa shut the door behind them, obviously not wanting the others to hear what they were going to be talking about. Her hands came together and she twisted them nervously, refusing to look at his face.
"Tifa, what's wrong?" Cloud asked, putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Cloud I-" Tifa shook her head and frowned, not knowing how to say what she wanted to say. Then she squared her shoulders and looked up into his eyes. "You're going to go off and look for Sephiroth."
Cloud stared right back into her eyes, as if trying to see the real meaning behind her question, and then he nodded.
"Yes." he said. "I'm going to look for Sephiroth and-"
"The kids. They need a father." Tifa blurted out. Cloud stiffened and let go of her shoulder.
"Reno will probably still be around." he shrugged.
"Cloud! Why do you have to be so dense?" Tifa snapped, and then quickly lowered her voice again. " I love you Cloud! I always have! And I know you love me too. I can't even imagine having you leave me again when there's the possibility of you never coming back. I... I need you, Cloud."
"Tifa, what about Reno?" Cloud asked gently.
"I don't... I don't love him as much as I love you." she whispered.
"Tifa..." Cloud murmured, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry, I really am, but I have to go looking for Sephiroth. Do you understand?"
"Yes, but I don't want the kids getting involved in this either. They might get hurt." Tifa mumbled against his shirt.
"I promise I'll protect you all." Cloud said firmly.
"Cloud, I'm just so scared for you. What if Sephiroth does something to you? Or Genesis? What if Genesis finds Sephiroth first and they hurt you in some way?" Tifa said, worried.
"Tifa, someone has to find them and make sure they don't hurt other people." Cloud said softly.
"Why does it have to be you?" Tifa asked sadly.
"I won't be alone, Tifa. I'll have Zack with me; maybe Reno if he wants to come. Listen, Tifa..." Cloud paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "I love you. I'll come back."
Pushing Tifa back slowly so that he could see her face, he gave a small smile and then bent his head to hers, kissing her.
*
Walking back into the room where the others were, Cloud and Tifa remained silent as they sat down in their previous seats. Reno and Zack looked at them with raised eyebrows but didn't ask about what they'd been saying.
"So, how are we going to find Sephiroth?" Zack asked.
"Maybe we should wait for Genesis to find him, yo." Reno shrugged.
"We can't. We don't know what Genesis is planning and we don't know whether it would be too late once he's found Sephiroth." Cloud said, shaking his head. "We have to find him first."
"Okay, genius. Where do we begin?" Reno asked.
"I don't know." Cloud sighed.
"Maybe Sephiroth's still somewhere in Nibelheim." Tifa suggested quietly. Cloud looked over at her and nodded, considering it seriously.
"That's a possibility." he agreed.
"And it's pretty much the only thing we've got so far," Zack said. "So are we going to Nibelheim now?"
"Where's Nibelheim, yo?" Reno asked, frowning.
"It's a country town." Cloud said. "I grew up there."
"You're joking!" Reno sat back in his seat, eyes wide. "I'm not going to the country, yo!" Zack and Cloud exchanged a glance and Cloud sighed, putting his head in his hands.
"Reno, do you want to have to sit back here doing nothing but wait around for us to get back?" Zack asked. Reno considered it.
"Well, if I did I'd be able to keep in contact with Cissnei and pretend I'm her friend, yo. Or that we don't know she's with the bad guys." Reno shrugged. "So yeah I'll stay. But can someone else stay too? It'll be weird if they only ever hear from me and don't hear anyone else in the background, yo. They might get suspicious."
"I'm staying, Reno." Tifa said quietly. Reno looked over at her, a bit shocked, and then looked at where Cloud was still staring at the table.
"I see." Reno said cautiously.
"That's a good plan, Reno. You keep them thinking we haven't discovered anything and that we have no idea where to start so that they relax a bit and hopefully take their time with whatever they're planning." Zack said, nodding as he thought it through.
"Aye, aye." Reno mock saluted.
"So when do we leave?" Cloud asked, lifting his head to stare at Zack. The dark-haired SOLDIER shrugged and slouched in his seat.
"I guess as soon as possible. Tonight?" he suggested.
"Yeah, okay." Cloud nodded.
"Do you want Aerith to stay with us?" Tifa asked. Zack looked over at her and nodded, very much liking that idea. He didn't want her to be alone in the church.
"I'll tell her to come over." Zack said, standing and making his way out of the room as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
Tifa, Cloud and Reno sat awkwardly at the table, not knowing what to say to each other. Tifa felt slightly guilty for kissing Cloud and couldn't bear to look at Reno in case he somehow saw the truth in her eyes. Yes, she loved Cloud, but she also felt something smaller for Reno and didn't want him to be hurt by who she had chosen.
"I'll go check on the kids." Tifa said quietly, pushing back from the table and leaving the room.
Cloud remained silent, staring at the table and not looking at Reno. He didn't want to have to look at the red-head's face and know that he was going to be staying behind with Tifa.
"Cloud, I'm not going to do anything, yo." Reno said quietly, breaking the silence between them. Cloud raised his head and, reluctantly, met Reno's gaze with his own. "She loves you Cloud. It's obvious."
Cloud frowned, not really believing the words he had just heard come out of Reno's mouth. He couldn't possibly be giving up this soon, could he? Maybe he was just saying this to make Cloud relax so that he would have an easier time of stealing her away again. Maybe-
No. Cloud shook his head minutely and forced himself to stop thinking such horrible things about the Turk.
"Cloud?" Reno asked, hesitant.
"It's okay, Reno. I trust you." Those were the words that came out of his mouth and startled him to the core. He was talking to a Turk. How could he trust a Turk? For all he knew, Reno could have already secretly texted Cissnei back to let her know they knew about her, and was planning on telling her everything once he and Zack were in Nibelheim.
"Thanks." Reno said, looking away and shifting uncomfortably.
Cloud sighed again and leant his head in his hand, wishing that things didn't have to be so difficult. Would they find Sephiroth? And if they did, what if they didn't make it back?
"Reno, if I don't survive this," Cloud murmured. "Those kids are still going to need a father." Reno stared at the blonde man in absolute shock.
"Cloud-"
"I'm serious." Cloud said firmly. "I know what it's like to grow up without one. They don't deserve that."
Reno couldn't think of anything to say in response and only managed to nod. Cloud seemed satisfied and some of the tension left his body, leaving him looking more relaxed.
Tifa walked back into the room and sat down, glancing from one to the other as if making sure they hadn't tried to kill each other while she was gone.
"The kids are fine." she said.
"Good." Cloud replied.
Reno remained silent, the weight of what Cloud had said to him feeling heavier since Tifa had come back. He felt immensely guilty, as if he should tell her right now and get it out in the open what had been confided in him.
Cloud didn't think he was going to make it back.