Alrighty guys! Welcome to Chapter 6! Same disclaimers apply, and I hope you all enjoy it! After this, there will be two, maybe three chapter left, I'm not sure, and you all will get more citrus before the end. Not here though, but honestly I couldn't contain myself if I was confronted with Cloud's happy trail, but hey… Tifa's the woman right? You'd have to be to resist jumping him for so long! Enjoy!


Chapter 6: The Surprise

"Shush!" Came a high-pitched squeal from the back corner. "They're going to be here any minute!" Yuffie glanced over the itinerary Reeve had given each of them, and glanced at the clock. The bar was decorated in blue and green balloons and streamers, a beautiful cake sat on a table with some sort of clear punch Shera had made. She would have sampled it, but when the engineer told her there was vodka in it… she shied away from it. Shera elbowed her husband in the gut; who hadn't been paying attention and merely cursed at her for hurting him.

The presents were all wrapped and playing on the table… all but one, which was still in Reeve's pocket. The mythril and diamond ring had come out beautifully, and while the stone was small, the metal and design more then made up for it. The rest of the bar was set up for seating, and all the people there… Avalanche, the Turks and Rufus, their neighbors… everyone… was making sure the last preparations were made before they turned out the lights and hid. There were several muttered curses, then a thud, "Ouch Cid, that was my foot," and a string of curses that made even Vincent blush. "Shaddup! If you all ruin this fer Spike… I'll clobber ya!" Barret was obviously not happy, "it's alright dear…" came Elmyra's gentle reply. "Ouch Nanaki!" came a muffled call from Marlene, who evidently got burned by his tail.

A tell tale roar marked the point when everyone stopped talking, since it was obvious that Fenrir had returned with it's riders. The party goers could hear Cloud, "Come on Tifa, I'll make you dinner again." A gentle laugh came from the barmaid, "again? You're going to end up spoiling me." Vincent had to clamp his human hand down on his lover's mouth to keep her from squeaking again. He could feel her nearly bouncing in excitement when the click of the lock sounded and the chimes on the door sounded. In an instant, Reeve flipped on the lights and everyone jumped out yelling "Surprise" in one huge chorus.

Tifa nearly jumped out of her skin, not having expected it at all, but the grin on Cloud's face at her surprise caused her to figure out who was the orchestrator of this whole event. Everyone swarmed the birthday girl, patting her on the back, giving her hugs, until a loud whistle pulled their attention. "Alright, everyone let the woman breathe!" It was Yuffie, who hopped down from chair she was on and walked over, taking Tifa's hand. "I'm going to take her to get ready, someone start some damn music!" Barret hit the button on the jukebox and a lively tune started, and the ninja princess started to lead the barmaid upstairs.

Once they were in her room, Tifa realized that someone had made her bed… and a certain box of flat discs was missing. Her cheeks colored, "who cleaned up my room." Yuffie grinned and pointed to the prettily wrapped box on the bed. "Me and Elmyra, don't worry, I hid the condoms in the dresser drawer before she saw them. Wow would that be embarrassing… the mother of his old girlfriend seeing…" she glanced to Tifa, who was bright red and she giggled, "Sorry! Come on, open the present so you can get dressed. It's from all of us!"

The martial artist glanced to her best friend, the heat leaving her cheeks. Yuffie wasn't wearing her normal clothes, and not even a party outfit. It was a simple, green dress with an empress waist and a lot of material. She started to unwrap the present, pulling on the bow, and smirked. "So, who's the father?"

She smirked at what she expected to be a blow up of epic proportions, but they ninja went silent. Tifa had only been trying to get her back for her jibe, but the look on her face told her that it was true. "Yuffie? I was just kidding…" The ninja shook her head and came over, and sat on the bed. "You have to swear to secrecy, not even Cloud can know… not until we can tell everyone. I'm pregnant, three months along…"

The bar maid smiled and hugged her friend, "that's amazing! Who's the father anyway, someone from Wutai? It's not a Turk, please tell me it isn't Reno or someone."

Yuffie raised an eyebrow, "you know, Turks aren't so bad… especially ex-Turks. They tend to be very kind and gentle when you get to know them." The young mother-to-be seemed to have a sparkle to her that Tifa had never seen before. She really was in love, but that only caused her to think harder. Her eyes got wide when she realized what she meant by ex-Turk. "Oh my god, you're in love with Vincent!" Yuffie put her finger to her lips and giggled. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. "Yuffie, Tifa…" came the gunslinger's deep voice, "Cid and Barret are trying to figure out a way to administer 'birthday spankings' without getting beat up. I suggest you hurry." He sounded a bit worried, "I do believe they are drunk already."

The ninja motioned for Tifa to unwrap the present, then went to the door, opening it a bit to grin at her Vinnie. "Hey, I told Tifa, so she knows. I had to tell her, it's her birthday." The gunman stuck his head in the door and looked to the barmaid, who just grinned. "Congratulations!"

Vincent nodded a bit, smiling just enough that Tifa could see it. "Thank you, but really, with Cloud dressing and you two up here… I do not want to resort to force to make them behave themselves." Yuffie laughed, her hand going to her stomach as she did, the material taut over her small bump. "Alright, I'll help you Vince, get dressed Teef!" She slipped out the door and latched it behind her, leaving the martial artist by herself. She let out a happy sigh and pulled the paper off the box. Inside was a beautiful sky blue dress. It had rhinestones on the bottom, making a pretty pattern that reminded her of clouds. It was darker at the bottom and faded to nearly white at the top, the top was silk, and the thing was fitted to her hips, and then flared out to her knees. There was a set of nylons in there and a blue ribbon attached to a note.

Dear Tifa,

Cloud said you liked blue, Vince and I got the Ribbon; it wasn't easy, let me tell you! It will keep you safe too, which is what you need starting out a new family. Elmyra picked out the jacket, said that it would suit you and Barret didn't seem to disagree. Blame Cid and Shera for the stockings, but you still needed them right? The shoes are from Reeve and Nanaki, they are under the bed, they didn't want you to be taller then your date! The earrings are from the kids; they even picked them out. And the dress was picked out by Cloud; I told him it was silly to get something with clouds on it… geesh what's with that guy! Anyway, the puppy is in Cloud's room, with a new leash and collar if you want to take her down. It isn't every day you turn 25!

Love, Yuffie

Tifa pulled the dress out and saw the little jacket under it, it was blue denim, and rather short. With all the care she could, she laid the dress out, then pulled the jacket out. It had short sleeves and was plain, but it did remind her of something Aerith would wear. She saw, right over the heart area was another of the rhinestone clouds, which made her smile. "I love it," she whispered. She dressed quickly, pulling the pretty white sandals out from under the bed and slipping then one, finally changing her drop earrings to the pretty blue crystal ones meant to go with the dress, and pulling her hair into a loose ponytail with a ribbon. She put a bit of make up on; nothing fancy just enough to enhance her natural beauty, then stepped out of the door. She smiled a bit, seeing Cloud was standing against his office doorjamb, dressed in the white pants and blue shirt from last night. He had it untucked; the bottom button was open, showing how low the pants rode on his hips. She could see the yellow hair that ran from his belly button to his other pieces. The sleeves were rolled to his elbows again, and it was unbuttoned to just under his chest. He was wearing his normal boots, and around his wrist was the leash for Heaven, the dog was sitting patiently at the swordsman's feet. He smiled a bit, putting his hand out to her, which she took without hesitation and she found herself pulled against him. "You look beautiful."

Tifa smiled softly and moved to kiss him, and though she had intended to make it a small peck, Cloud had other ideas. She still couldn't get used to how good he was at kissing, he did things to her just with his lips and tongue on her that drove her wild. When he finally pulled back, they were both rather breathless, and the barmaid thought of something Yuffie's note had said. "Why did Yuffie say that I needed protection when starting a new family?"

The swordsman just shrugged a bit, "I'm not sure, you should ask her." He gave her a cryptic smile and handed her the leash, then offered his arm. She didn't continue with the questioning, figuring that he'd tell her if and when he was ready. He lead her down the stairs, and once they reached the place at the bottom where everyone could see the couple, wolf whistles and clapping erupted from just about everyone. Several cameras went off, and Shera promised to get a big copy for the birthday girl, since it was so very rare to actually capture Cloud smiling.

Little Heaven also seemed to be enjoying herself, the kids immediately started petting and playing with the ball of fluff, so the bar mistress gave Marlene the leash and instructed her to take the puppy out to use the bathroom. It really was amazing to see so many people there to see her for her special day. She really hadn't even known she had so many friends, and she was overjoyed to know that Cloud really did care for her. It was an amazing thought, that he was so sweet and in tune with her that he did all this with out her knowing.

As she was off in her own little world, the party commenced, everyone started dancing, and she saw Yuffie decline a drink of punch from Reno, and Vincent hovering close, glaring at the red haired Turk, who was oblivious and still hitting on the pregnant ninja. She frowned and then smirked, grabbing a glass herself and clinking a glass against it. This brought everyone's attention to her, and Tifa smiled happily. Everyone started calling for a speech, and the martial artist giggled happily, before nodding. "It isn't very often so many of us are together in one location. I'm so happy to see all of you today! If the last two days of celebration were wonderful already, the day just keeps getting better and better. Thank you, to all of you, and mostly to my love Cloud, who you all know did this. I love you." There were several whoops and hollers, and a lot of clapping, causing the sweet swordsman to blush lightly. He waved a hand to quiet them all, and then Tifa continued. "The blessings on Avalanche just keep coming, first we welcomed the next little Highwind into the world," more clapping for Cid and Shera, and to baby Zeppelin who was currently being watched after by an aunt in Rocket Town. "And now, Yuffie has an announcement to make as well!" People weren't going to leave her alone until they heard the news, and much to her surprise, Vincent slipped a hand to the kunoichi's back and pushed her up next to Yuffie, standing to her side. Yuffie was tomato red, which didn't make her happy, and she was so going to get back at Tifa and Vincent for this. They must have planned it or something. "Um… well… I guess I should just come out and say it… I'm pregnant." There was shock that ran through the crowd, they hadn't been expecting that. Barret blinked, "who in the hell's th' dad?"

Yuffie was about to answer when Vincent's hand came down on her shoulder. "That would be me. We are very happy…" which caused everyone to start talking and laughing excitedly, mostly at the fact the gunslinger said he was happy and his face remained completely blank. A curse came up from Cid and he grabbed some gil out of his pocket, handing it over to Reeve who grinned. The ninja stamped her foot, "you were betting on me!"

Reeve smiled, "I bet that you would end up with Vincent, Cid thought it would be Reno." Reno made a face at them then started to wander away, hitting on one of Tifa's hot neighbors. The birthday girl started to giggle a bit, watching as Vincent pulled Yuffie in for their first public display of affection. It really was adorable that he had this tiny smile on his face when he looked at her, his hand gently rubbing her belly. She felt arms slid around her own waist and her back come in contact with the firm chest of one Cloud Strife, and she turned her head a bit to look at him. "You did that on purpose."

"Of course I did, everyone would have figured it out anyway, since normally she drinks with Cid and Barret, and she was refusing anything with alcohol. It's better this way, don't you think? That they don't have to hide it." She felt a soft kiss on the side of her neck and a small affirmation in the form of a grunt. He hugged her gently, whispering into her ear. "Are you happy? With me?"

Tifa smiled softly and nodded, "very much. I can't remember a time that I've been more happy."

"Good…" he said, his hand lying on her flat belly, his mind wondering what she would look like with a bump there as well. Only time would tell, but he was sure she'd be beautiful. "Then the next big question I ask you, I hope you'll say yes." She felt him pull away and disappear into the crowd, leaving her to wonder how he could top all this. "Oh Cloud," she whispered to him, even though he couldn't hear her, "I'd say yes to anything you asked me to do."