A/N: I actually wanted to give a feeling of the atmosphere in this chapter. Please read and enjoy! And reviews will be appreciated!

Chapter 2: Moving On

Taking out a dark blue button down shirt and a pair of black jeans out of his drawers, Cloud made his way to the shower. He was distracted, not much by the fact that a few minutes ago, his trousers were pulled down but by that that Tifa would be making breakfast for him. His thoughts went once again on his life a week or two ago when he was living in the church and surviving on stale food or commonplace inn food.

Of course, that time made him remember about his actions and the consequent happenings in more detail. He had left Tifa to deal with his Geostigma. He thought that living with her in his condition would only tie her down and he'd be another burden for her to carry much like Denzel whom he had rescued and who he himself had left behind for Tifa to look after. He was not fit to take care of her was his only thought when he left. Hell, he wasn't fit enough to take care of himself, let alone anybody. He was a failure and why Tifa still hadn't given up on him was a mystery to him.

As the first drops of water wet his face, he thought again of the rain that had cured the Geostigma in the city. Aeris was right, everything did turn out all right. He was cured, Denzel was cured and Gaia was now free of the Remnants. He thought about that moment in the pool in the church when he saw his friends, the members of Avalanche, cheering for him. It was then that he realised how lucky he was in knowing them, having them around in times of need and being still alive.

His eyes found Tifa and he remembered smiling. There was his future, with that woman who could fight any monster she came across and at the same time go to any end to protect her loved ones or make them feel wanted. Seeing her smile at him meant the world to Cloud at that moment. It had been his dream to be the reason she smiled and now that he could see it for himself, he felt a monster let out a victorious roar in his chest.

Within the past week, that monster had surfaced at quite a lot of times especially when he was around Tifa. He really couldn't explain it at first but then he had gotten quite used to him appearing. The monster made him irrational, actually grab hold of Tifa and confess his feelings for her, make up for the past years of separation and feelings of repressed love.

He still has his doubts about her response to his affection which is why he was waiting for the perfect time to tell her about it. Moreover, he actually wanted a hint, any indication that she loved him too and would like to spend her life with him. Yes, he was that much serious about her and the only thing stopping him was his doubts.

He was still thinking about her when somebody knocked on the door and a minute later Denzel's muffled voice came, "Cloud! Tifa says that your breakfast is ready so you might want to eat it while it is fresh and hot. You coming?"

"Yes, Denzel, I'll be down in a few minutes," replied Cloud and proceeded to finish with his shower. Five or six minutes later, he came out of the bathroom and proceeded to go downstairs, heading for the kitchen. He could practically taste the flavour of vanilla on his tongue. Tifa had made Vanilla French Toast with Strawberry Sauce for him! Oh joy! That girl knew how to drive him insane with just her cooking. He wondered for the umpteenth time in his life about her culinary skills. Making his way to the counter of the bar, he smiled at her and grabbed a slice. She had served him lemon juice with it and he noted that it made a wonderful combo.

She smiled at him in return and started preparing things for opening the bar. With her back turned to him, she took a cloth and started drying glasses. Eventually she turned around and said, "So do you plan on continuing with your vacation?"

"No. I will start with the deliveries from tomorrow," the warrior replied to her. He had originally decided to take just a day off to recuperate but then Tifa had made him extend his holiday and the way she had asked that from him made it hard for him to say no to her. Besides, he had to contribute to their household expenditure too. Agreed that Tifa's bar tips were more than enough for them but being the only man in the house, he wanted his earnings to be the ones utilised for their needs and Tifa's for her personal use and pleasure. She shouldn't have to face the burden of keeping two kids fed and clothed when she deserved to be showered with luxurious gifts.

"Okies. Tell me when you plan to start then. I'll get up and pack up some food for you," Tifa said giving him one of her rare, genuine smiles.

Since he really didn't want to wake her up this early just to make her pack food for him (delicious food by the way) he shrugged and said, "It's not necessary but thank you." Tifa noticed that he said that with a smile and knew that he would not wake her up so she decided to do something about it herself. She knew that he wouldn't eat until he became really tired however, if he had food already, he'd definitely take a break to eat it or if worse came to worst, just eat while driving between locations. Since his response didn't really ask for a reply, all she did was smile and returned to drying the glasses.

"Well, if you have no plans for today, would you mind helping me with the kids or the bar?" Tifa asked after a few moments, realising that it was time to open soon.

"Of course, that is a given," Cloud replied and got up. He put his plate and glass in the sink first, washing them and then turned to take the cloth from Tifa to dry the glasses while she turned to the more attention demanding aspect of this venture, the snacks and food. They worked in peace until the first customer came inside.

"Hey... Brother's here!" Neither of them had to look up to see who it was. The obnoxious, loud and obnoxiuosly loud voice was familiar to everybody. Cloud groaned and Tifa stifled a laugh at his reaction and turned to attend to the first patron of their day.

There goes my perfect moment down the drain, or maybe it is down that idiot's mouth. Heh, that actually makes sense, thought Cloud as he built up his mental defense and shut off his brain to prevent inflow of trash.

A/N II: Thank you for the initial faith frosterd. I really appreciate it! :)