CHAPTER 7:
"Cloud? What the hell? It's 6:00, where have you been?" Tifa asked, letting her friend into the house.
Cloud stretched and yawned once inside. "I was out with Reno and Rude. I stayed there because I didn't want to come home drunk and wake you up. But I couldn't sleep because of Reno screaming."
"What's he mad about now?" Tifa asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
"He's not. It was more along the lines of 'uh…uh…Rude fuck me' and I thought at first there was an earthquake going on, and then when I figured it out. I just couldn't get back to sleep. So I'm tired and hung over."
"I see." Tifa said, smiling and placing a hand on Cloud's forehead. "You feel a little warm."
"I'm fine. I just need to relax a little."
"Well go sit down on the couch. I'll get you a blanket and make you some soup. Try to keep it down, because the kids are still sleeping. I need to get them up for school in an hour." Tifa lead Cloud to the couch in front of the tv, plopping him down and crossing the living room to get a blanket, which she draped over and wrapped around him. She then set off into the kitchen and Cloud could hear the clanging of pots and pans, and the water turning on in the sink.
I can't believe I never noticed how good she is to me, taking care of me like this without me having to even ask her. She has been there for me for most of my entire life, to comfort and love me, and I feel like the biggest jerk in the world for ignoring her all of this time. She's perfect like a dream and she loves me more than anything. But I'm not going to let another day go by, letting her slip into sadness even deeper than she is. I've got to make her mine.
"Okay, I got the soup on. It will take a little while, though." Tifa said, good-natured as always sitting down beside her friend. "Do you need anything else?"
Cloud, resting his head back against the supportive cushions behind him turned his face ever so slowly, connecting his Mako-blue eyes with her dark ones. He smiled at her, just a very light, very faint smile, before bringing one hand up to brush a few strands of her long, dark hair out of her face, before gently cupping her cheek, rubbing his thumb over skin he had never known the softness of.
"Cloud?" Tifa questioned, her eyes widening at this newly shown affection from her best friend in the entire world. She had fallen in love with him the day she met him, so many years ago. They were both children then, but the feeling never slipped away. Every time she saw him, she loved him more, and up until now she was disappointed. But this, it was a pleasant shock. This touch, as simple as it was…it was the first sign of real affection he had ever shown for her. His hand felt so warm, and so good. If this was a dream, she didn't want it to end.
"Tif-" Cloud broke off as he leaned forward resting his forehead against hers for a moment before closing his eyes and connecting their lips, attempting a kiss for only the second time in his life.
As much as Tifa wanted to accept this, she broke the contact before it even began. Pulling back slightly, she looked at her friend, now more confused about him than she had ever been.
"Wait. What is this?" Tifa demanded, not rudely, but certainly concerned. She placed a hand against Cloud's chest, pushing him away, but not losing her gentleness. What the hell is he doing? He has been ignoring my feelings for him since we were kids, and now he comes home hung over and tries this?
Not knowing quite what to say, Cloud continued to lean against the couch, only roughly ten inches away from Tifa's beautiful face. He let his hand slide down to cover hers, the one she was using to push him away and she stilled. He moved said hand over to the other side of his chest, pressing Tifa's palm to the spot where his heart was about to burst out of him. He gave her hand a soft squeeze, and proceeded to rub his palm over the back of her hand, and down past her wrist. His eyes burned into hers, and he spoke.
"Tifa, I love you. I spent a long night laying awake and thinking about how I have treated you. I'm so sorry. It was just fear, because everything I touch, I lose. I know you love me and I feel like hell for not making you feel needed sooner. I know, I sound like I'm crazy, but you're everything to me. Everything and more. Please don't turn away from me."
"Why? Why now, all of a sudden?"
"Because. I can't take it anymore. I want to be with you, and I know I need to start acting like more of a man and tell you how I feel or I'm going to lose you forever. You're the woman of my dreams. You're so beautiful and I just want to make you happy. I know you're probably confused and even mad at me, but I need you."
"Are you sure you mean this? Are you sure you aren't going to regret saying it later? Because there is no turning back from here. You can't just tell me you love me today and walk out on me tomorrow. If we're going to be together, you need to be there for us. Cloud…are you sure that you aren't just doing this because you're afraid that I'll be with someone else when the day comes that you want to be with me?"
"Tifa, listen. That day is today. I'm serious. I want us to be a real family. I want to be there for you and Denzel and Marlene, and even more if you want. I'm saying this right now because I love you, and it is killing me inside. Just like it was for you. I want to end your pain, and I want to be with you. I'll do anything you ask."
Tifa looked into his eyes. He was telling the truth. After all of these years of waiting for him, he was here. Cloud loved her, and right now, he wanted to be with her. She wanted to be with him. This was going to happen. Her heart leapt with sudden joy, finally feeling loved like she had always wanted, and it was by the man she always wanted that love from. She smiled, and her eyes shone, brimming with tears. But she would not cry, this was a happy moment.
Cloud leaned in to kiss her again, and this time, she didn't stop him. She closed her eyes as his warm mouth connected with hers, and their arms instinctively went around each other, now holding as tight as comfort would allow. But the kiss remained slow, passionate, and new. Cloud was at least fairly sure Tifa had not done this either, because her returned kiss didn't feel like Reno's had the night before. This was soft, even scared. He pulled away for a second.
"I haven't done this before, either." He said to her, wanting to make his new love feel more comfortable. He wanted her to feel safe with him.
"You haven't?" She questioned, surprised.
"Well, I was drunk and I tried to kiss Reno last night."
A burst of laughter came from Tifa's lips before she placed a hand over her mouth. "What makes you think I haven't?"
"I just know it."
"Because I love you." Tifa added, before laying her head on Cloud's shoulder, her arms still embracing him. "I want to take this one step at a time." She said, sighing as his hands rubbed her back up and down. He nodded, but proceeded to place kisses down her neck and over her shoulder, moving the strap from her tank top as he did so.
"I love you, too. Just let me kiss you." Cloud whispered. He didn't intend to take things too far with Tifa that very day. He wanted to be like a normal couple inside. Nothing mattered right now as he tipped her face toward him, pressing his lips to hers again, deepening this more than their first kiss. She sighed softly into this, tightening her grip on him as Cloud tentatively slid his tongue out to graze it over her bottom lip. Tifa gasped and Cloud took this moment to invade her mouth, exploring only slightly, still very unsure of his skill. She slid her own tongue out to meet Cloud's and it felt electric. It was true she wanted more of Cloud, all she could get, but the feeling made her guilty. This was perfect, but she couldn't. Pulling away, she stood up.
"What now?" Cloud asked, trying to look more injured.
"Soup's probably ready."
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Rude jerked out of his sleep that he only seemed to have slipped into a moment ago. Looking at the alarm clock, he saw it was 7:30 and he had actually only been asleep for three hours. He could have sworn he heard something. There is no way he woke up on his own. Listening, the sound came again. There was an urgent banging at his front door, and judging by the metallic sound of it, he knew just who it was.
Getting up and quickly finding some pants, he went down the hall and answered the door, seeing the expected ominous man standing before him.
"Vincent." He nodded a greeting, still very tired. He now had a slight headache from jolting out of bed so quickly.
"Rude. Tseng has sent me here to inform you that Koeft paid New Shinra a visit last night. They have taken President Rufus Shinra hostage."
"What?!" Suddenly Rude was wide awake. The KPS struck again and they took Rufus, the very reason that he and Reno even had jobs.
"Come in." Rude stepped away from the door, allowing Vincent access into the house. They went into the living room, as usual for guests and Vincent plopped down into one of the easy chairs, placing his feet up onto the coffee table, looking tired himself. Rude couldn't help but wonder if Vincent ever slept. He was a very mysterious man, and there were a lot of things that Rude had never been able to imagine him doing. He had never eaten or drank in front of him, nor cried. Very rarely he would grin or chuckle, but never a full-blown smile or laugh. He had been around Vincent for close to 24 hours at a time, and the demon of a man never even seemed like he had to go to the bathroom.
"How did this happen? I thought that the KPS was dead for the most part." Rude was genuinely perplexed. "I know Rufus is no super hero, but he's certainly strong enough to take out one man. Hell, Reno could have probably done it if he wasn't outnumbered and already banged up so bad."
"Do you actually know what Koeft looks like? Reno didn't stand a chance and neither does President Shinra. Koeft is bigger than Barrett, but not by far. He's also highly skilled, but he didn't act alone. Surveillance cameras caught him and two other armed men. They ambushed Rufus alone in his office. The individuals apparently used the roof vents to get in, and the back elevator to get out."
"Well, why are we sitting around for? We need to go figure out where they are keeping-"
"Relax. I'm already far ahead of you. They left a note that security found. It tells us exactly where to fi-"
His speech was interrupted by the sound of Reno talking his way down the hall, groggy and making his way to the living room as well.
"Damn. My ass still hurts, yo. From when you prison fucked me on top of the coff-" Reno stopped in mid sentence on his own, when he turned the corner and saw Vincent sitting there, staring at him. The much older man cleared his throat and proceeded to remove his feet from where they sat on the wooden table's surface, gracelessly placing them on the floor.
"Awkward." Vincent stated, slightly disturbed by the mental image that Reno inadvertently painted for him.
"Uh, hey Vincent. What brings you here so early, yo?"
"Reno, go get dressed. We have some work to do." Rude replied.
"Huh? What work? It's the weekend!" Reno replied, pouting.
"Rufus. He was abducted by Koeft and a couple others from the KPS last night. We have to go to the designated meeting place and try to…well we are going to get him back."
"Koeft? Who's all coming?"
"Me, you, Vincent, Tseng and Elena."
"Fuck, that isn't going to be enough. That's like walking into a death trap, man. You don't even know. Five of us, and we will already be outnumbered without a doubt. Not to mention Koeft is a huge motherfu-"
"Reno. We know the risk. But those were Koeft's terms. This is strictly Shinra business. No outside help. I still count because I was once a Turk. That's what they want, Turks."
"So we go in there to die? That's your big plan? Look, I have dealt with this guy and it almost killed me."
"Exactly. What do you suppose they are going to do to your boss if we don't make an attempt? Do you want Rufus to be dead next time you see him?"
"No, Vincent. I don't."
"Then go get dressed. Now."
End of Chapter 7.