I'm terribly sorry for short chapters, but I'm trying to test out writing for a new fandom little by little, so hopefully things'll get interesting and longer now that most of the boring begginning stuff is out of the way.

"Tifa! Tifa!" Marlene cried, pulling at the barmaid's clothing. Tifa blinked and stared down at the little girl, pushing the glasses away from the edge. An angry scowl formed on her face. "Cloud still isn't home yet."

"I'm sorry Marlene. A delivery must be running late." Tifa sighed, staring at the clock. He was an hour late. "Where could he be?" she mumbled to herself.

"He promised Tifa! He promised that he would be home in time to help me with my project for school!"

"I'm sorry Marlene. I can help you-"

"But I want Cloud to! He promised!" the usually mature six year old was now on the verge of tears. She had a close bond with the exSOLDIER, and it seemed strange that the usual closed up Cloud Strife would crumple his walls for the small girl. Truly it was an astonishing relationship, even Tifa was surprised.

"Alright, I'll call him." Tifa sighed, Marlene finally twisting her leg enough. Marlene smiled proudly, and ran back to her room where Denzel was so they could play. Tifa rolled her eyes when she heard Denzel complaining about Marlene always invading his privacy.

The brunette sighed, leaning against the wall with her cell phone in hand. Even after the Geostigma incident, that blonde was still the same Cloud he always was. Pressing the phone to her ear, she counted the rings, and after the seventh, expected voicemail, but to her surprise, Cloud answered.

"Tifa." his soft yet monotone voice spoke on the other end.

"You're late." she responded, looking at the dishtowel on the counter to focus herself.

"I know, but Shinra called." was all he said, and there was crackling at the other end. "Apparently one of their prized Turks went missing."

"Who?" Tifa couldn't help but ask, her fingers curling tighter around the technology.

"Reno apparently."

There was an awkward silence, until Tifa choked out, "R-Reno? What happened Cloud? And why did Rufus call you?"

"Reno went on a dangerous mission, and wasn't paying attention. Some kind of new creature attacked the helicopter, but they can't find his body. Think he might be alive. So they needed my help to prove it."

"What did you say?"

"No."

Another silence.

"Maybe Reno is still alive Cloud."

"It's for them to figure out. Elena is hysterical, Rude is in shock, and Tseng . . . He wouldn't be much help is all I can say."

"They're desperate . . ." Tifa muttered, lowering her head. "We should do something Cloud. The Turks did help us when the Geostigma cropped up."

"But what can we do? The planet is still healing. We can't take a chance. There's a reason Reno died." Cloud took a deep breath. "And personally I don't want to find that reason."

"But Cloud-"

"No Tifa." Cloud answered firmly. "I'm coming home. I'm keeping my promise with Marlene." the phone clicked off, leaving Tifa hanging.

"Oh Cloud . . ." Tifa murmured, staring at the floor.

The Shinra office building was different from usual, yet the same. Only the Turks that were closet to the red head mourned his supposed death, yet the rest, some that even knew him, when on their way as usual. Elena, having heard his death, was taking it the hardest, Rude had to calm her down, and it was all very awkward for the strong and silent man. Tseng was off doing his own thing, but it unmistakable that he was shaking and tears were streaming down his face at times. They never thought that he would cry over a comrade's death. And some looked over his shoulder, and noticed he was researching about the island and planning to send someone to see if he was alive.

"Tifa?" Tseng wiped his face and looked up at her, blinking the rest of the tears out of his eyes. "What are you doing here? It's a bad time."

The brunette shook her head. "I know. But, since Cloud is refusing to help, I thought I would. Reno is possibly still alive."

"How did Cloud get word of Reno's death?" Tseng narrowed his eyes. "He only went missing less than twenty four hours ago."

"Rufus called him." Tifa replied, eyeing the office. Only three people seemed to be affected, the rest were either going on with their thing, or joking about his death.

"We don't need help."

"We worked together only recently for the Geostigma incident. And if Cloud won't help, I will."

"Tifa-"

"Get back to me then." with the message received, she turned her heal towards the exit and left. Tseng blinked, thinking maybe this was the chance. Rufus should be informed.

*****To Be Continued