A/N: I wrote this several weeks ago and while I've got the drawing mostly done, I wanted to go ahead and post this because, movement! You guys deserve to know what happens next after waiting for so long! I've responded to most of your comments/reviews p2p, so no comments back here. Enjoy! As always, R&R!
Barret and Marlene's visit lasted for two days, and kept Tifa and Cloud so busy that she didn't have time to talk to Cloud. They took the two to the beach, to look at some of the new land the mayor was zoning to turn into real estate, and showed them around the shops. They had been there before, but never long enough to just take in everything. Marlene was pleasant to Eiliana, though she did not go out of her way to make friends with the girl, and the three children spent a lot of time in the ocean.
By the time that Barret and Marlene were packing up to head back to Edge, Tifa was pretty worn out from trying to make sure her guests had a great time. Her need to speak with Cloud remained in the forefront of her mind, and she planned carefully what she wanted to say down to the last word. As they waved goodbye to Barrent and Marlene who were riding chocobos back, Cloud's phone went off. His face grew serious as he answered.
"Hey Reeve, what's going on?" he questioned, then listened intently. Tifa watched him curiously, hoping for good news, but that hope was dashed when she saw a concerned expression pass over his face. "I see. I have no choice then. I will head that way shortly. Right. Okay, see you soon." He ended the call and turned to Tifa.
"What's going on Cloud?" she questioned, concerned and just a little bit annoyed that he would be leaving when she had something so important to discuss.
"Something's happened with the delivery… Mr. Vincenzo has requested my presence immediately." Noting the expression in her eyes, he lifted a hand to her face, cupping her cheek. "I know, I hate having to leave right now but I need to. I'll try to be back within a couple of days," he told her, gently kissing her. Helpless under his gaze and kiss, Tifa smiled at him.
"I understand. Here, let's go get you packed up," she said, leading the way back to her house. Quickly and deftly she put together a basket of food and a canteen of water for him, then helped him pack his bag. Denzel had been in his room on the phone with Eiliana, and emerged at that moment, eyeing Cloud warily.
"Where are you going Cloud?" he asked, a strange note to his voice. Tifa looked sharply at him, but Cloud didn't seemed to notice. He was pretty preoccupied, Tifa noticed.
"Work calls, little man, but I'll be back as soon as I can. Take care of your mom while I'm gone," he told Denzel, putting his hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture before turning to Tifa. "I'm off," he told her, pulling her into a tight hug. Tifa inhaled his scent, then watched as he left the house. She wanted to follow him to see him off, but there was something about him that made her feel like he didn't want her to, so she stayed put.
The next few hours were hard on Tifa. It was the first long stretch of time that she and Cloud had been apart since coming out of her coma, and she missed him terribly. Even more than she used to. It had to have something to do with his change in attitude towards her, and all the hugs and kisses he had been giving her.
It was just getting dark when her phone went off, and Tifa hurried to answer. "Hello?" she said into the receiver.
"Hey Teef, I made it. This shouldn't take more than a day, so I should be home pretty quickly," Cloud's voice spoke through the device. Tifa smiled, butterflies flittering in her stomach when he said he would be 'home' soon.
"Okay Cloud… be careful. I will see you when you get back. Thanks for calling." The smile she wore was evident in her voice, and she could almost see him smile back at her.
"I miss you already. Goodnight Tifa, sweet dreams," he told her. With her heart now matching her stomach, she gripped the phone tighter, wishing she could hug him.
"Goodnight Cloud, you too." They hung up then, and she found herself sleeping on a cloud that night.
The next day, while Denzel was at school, Tifa spent some time under her umbrella on the beach catching some sunrays and enjoying being out of doors. She read a book for a bit before growing drowsy, and just as she was drifting off two female voices reached her ears. They sounded like they were behind her, and it took her a moment to realize why she had suddenly tuned into them. They were discussing Cloud.
"...for being a hero, he sure is a bit standoffish don't you think?" one voice said, sounding disapproving. The other voice responded in a carefree manner.
"He doesn't seem standoffish with Miss Lockheart at least." The first voice scoffed.
"You say that, but I saw him just the other day with a pretty blonde. They were having a very intense discussion on the beach, and seemed pretty close," she said, conspiratorially.
"Is that so? My, I really thought he and Miss Lockheart were an item," the second voice commented disappointedly. Tifa stopped listening then, numb with shock. She shouldn't be listening to gossip, of course, and that was surely all it was, wasn't it? She tried to shake off the uncomfortable feeling, but it kept nagging at her. With a heavy sigh, the brunette got up out of her chair and made her way back home, avoiding the two women's gazes like the plague.
She spent the rest of the day in a daze, attempting to keep busy but having an extremely hard time with it. Denzel was occupied with schoolwork and talking to Eiliana, so he did not notice her preoccupation. Tifa was grateful, for she felt that he was too smart really for his own good and didn't need to worry about her.
Sleep was not easy to come by that night, but finally it came and almost immediately it seemed like morning was demanding her presence. Tifa got up in time to make Denzel breakfast, but once he was off to school it took her a good chunk of time to get dressed and ready for the day. The rest of the day was a blur to Tifa, for the worry and despair she was feeling was warring with her common sense constantly. She knew she shouldn't take the idle talk of strangers for hard truth, but her feelings were still so raw that it was hard not to.
The day passed without word from Cloud, and then the next day too. Her feelings had turned into full blown worry since she had not heard from him in so long, and had been expecting him back already. When she attempted to dial his cell phone, it immediately went to voicemail. Resolutely, Tifa dialed Reeve's number, determined to figure out what was happening.
"Hey Tifa," Reeve answered, having her number stored in his phone. "What's going on?" Tifa sighed before responding.
"Hey Reeve, have you seen Cloud? It's been longer than expected and he still has not returned. His cell is off too," she asked, her words spoken gravely.
"What, really? I'm surprised… he left here yesterday around noon. He should have made it back by now," was the response, increasing Tifa's worry tenfold.
"I'm coming that way," she immediately said.
"Well, he stopped off at the chocobo stables near Corel before grabbing his bird and heading up here, so start there and see if his bike is still there or not. That way you will know if he made it back across the sea at least," Reeve told her before they hung up. Tifa thanked him, then set into motion. After quickly packing a bag, she went over to Eryaine's home and asked if she would mind taking care of Denzel after school. Then she went and saddled up her golden chocobo, and was off towards Corel.
Since the planet was somewhat safer now after the defeat of Sephiroth (twice), small but flourishing chocobo stables had popped up all over the place, offering people an inexpensive way to get between land masses as well as convenient areas for them to stable their own birds. Their entire group had at least one chocobo at each stable, helping the success of these stables immensely.
Tifa's prized golden chocobo was very fast and very smart, and they reached the stables Reeve had mentioned within a couple of hours. Hopping off, Tifa noted that there was no motorcycle parked at the stables or even nearby. The stablemaster noticed her frantic looks and strolled over to her to ask if she needed help.
"Has Cloud Strife come through here recently? He was supposed to have been back by now but he isn't and I've been told that this might have been one of the last places he visited," she rushed to get out. The man nodded.
"Yes ma'am, he got here last night and camped out nearby. This morning he met up with a lady… blonde, I think she was, and they headed toward the mountain there," he told her, pointing towards nearby Mt. Corel. Tifa barely recognized where he was pointing, as her head had started buzzing and her blood seemed to turn cold. Suddenly unsure of what she should do next, she shakily thanked the man before turning back to her chocobo. Hopping on, she steered the bird towards the direction the man had pointed. Her throat was burning and she realized that she was fighting hard to contain tears, as her vision started swimming.
Nonetheless, Tifa steered the chocobo to the mountain, looking for signs of Cloud anywhere, before heading up a path to start ascending up the side of Mt. Corel. She kept her eyes wide, looking for signs of Cloud, but saw none and was beginning to grow very emotionally weary. Dismounting at the edge of a cliff overlooking a small inlet, the brunette fell to her knees, all her feelings overwhelming her and tears overflowing.
Who was the blonde woman Cloud had been seen with more than once now? Why wasn't he in touch with her to let her know where he was at least? And why was his phone off? Her distraught mind conjured up so many different scenarios, with the most likely one seeming so unlike Cloud and really too painful to imagine, but imagine it she did. Was this woman his secret lover? Just the thought that he could have been having this relationship all while taking care of her and kissing and hugging on her left a hole deep in her heart, and Tifa found herself sobbing pathetically. She cried out his name, the sound of it echoing down the mountainside. Suddenly the sky opened up, pouring rain on the heartbroken woman and her chocobo. The bird squawked at her, but Tifa did not hear him as she let all her feelings out in warm salty rivulets. Instead, she sat down and pulled her knees to her chest, burying her head against them.
Before too long, she was completely soaked and chilled, but seemed unable to move. Her chocobo seemed to not mind the rain so much, and tried to shield her from some of it. His affectionate actions went unnoticed by the woman.
Suddenly, she thought she heard her name being spoken by Cloud, but figured it must be her wistful imagination. "Tifa," was heard again, closer this time. A warm hand rested on her shoulder at that moment, startling her out of her self pity enough to look up to see who it was. It was Cloud, who upon seeing her red eyes and tear streaked face immediately kneeled down and gathered her into his arms. She tried to fight, to push him away, but was too weak from her cry to put much strength into it.
"Tifa… what is the matter? Are you injured? You're freezing!" he rushed out, full of worry. Tifa stubbornly tried to look away, but Cloud cupped her face and turned it towards him to look into her eyes. "What happened?" he asked, his voice quietening when he saw the anguished expression in her ruby eyes.
Taking a shuddering breath, Tifa expelled it slowly. "Where were you? I heard you were with.. someone.." she told him in a sad, resigned voice. Cloud seemed perplexed.
"I am sorry I didn't call you but my phone died and I did not have the charger with me. I decided to take a side trip before I headed back to the house," he told her. "Who is the someone you heard about?" Tifa swallowed over the lump in her throat, not really wanting to even speak the words out loud.
"A woman… blonde…" she murmured, trying to figure out where all her strength went as she felt glued in place. Cloud's eyebrows shot up in surprise. No wonder Tifa was acting so weird.
"It's not what you think." He let out a sigh, looking up at the sky. "Look, let's get you out of the rain at least. I have something to show you… I wanted to show you later but there's no time like the present," Cloud said to her, suddenly standing up with her in his arms with no warning. Tifa had to throw her arms around his neck to keep upright, and before she could protest Cloud was putting her on his motorcycle and forcing a helmet on her head.
"Cloud, what-" she started to say but he cut her off by revving up the engine and sitting in front of her.
"Go on back home," he told her bird, earning a wark of acquiescence as the bird ran off down the hill. Putting his goggles on, he said over his shoulder, "Hold on," before putting the bike in gear and speeding down the opposite side of the hill. Tifa did the only thing she could do; she tightened her arms around his waist and squeezed her eyes shut, trying but failing to ignore the warmth of his body pressed against hers. Just as they made it down the hill and into the open, she couldn't help thinking what he had to show her and whether her worst nightmares were about to come true.