Disclaimer: Don't own FF7 or FFAC.

Rated M for language, violence, and lemony goodness. XD

Tifa stood in the ambience of his glory, taking in the beautiful look of his deadly eyes, and the way he set his jaw in anger. There wasn't anything about Cloud that she didn't adore, even when he was extremely angry. But that was just it, Cloud was angry. Angry with her, with Tifa. If what Yuffie said was the truth, he had absolutely no right at all to be angry with her, and yet still she found herself being swallowed into the bottomless abysses that were his eyes.

Yuffie's fingers twitched with anxiousness, waiting for one to lunge at the other in a gruesome battle to the death. It was rare that Tifa would let someone push her around at all, but if your name was Cloud Strife, you always won without even having to try.

The smaller of the two girls turned to her friend and gave her a slight push, "Well, don't just stand there, Tifa. You know what he's trying to do; he's trying to use his looks against you. He's trying to intimidate you. You speak first, get the upper hand. He won't know how to react if you act like you at least have a backbone when it comes to him."

Tifa didn't respond.

"Remember, you didn't do anything wrong. You're single, Reno's single. Cloud has no business in this," Yuffie explained, giving Tifa's blank eyes a warning expression, "Listen to me; I know how to deal with men."

Tifa fought back the urge to say, 'Yeah men, not Cloud! They're different!' Not that Cloud wasn't the most masculine thing that she had ever had the pleasure of knowing; but he worked much differently than that of the typical man. He was very collected and strategic in everything he did. Even when it came to mere package delivery, he would stay up late at night with Marlene, Denzel, and herself and think of ways to deliver the package most effectively.

The floorboards creaked as he walked forward, his movements decisive and intent on the long haired beauty that seemed to be attached to Yuffie's side. Even the way he moved seemed to be beautiful. His clothes would flow at his sides, and his ever present spikes would bounce with every step. Just the thought of it mesmerized her, let alone when he actually moved.

So once he was standing directly in front of her, the heat of his eyes only a head above hers did she realize that she had been undermined by her stupid love for the man. She mentally cursed herself before forcing a shaky smile, "Hi, C-Cloud. You're back early. I hadn't expected you to be home until evening. How did the delivery go?"

He didn't respond. The only answer she received was the constant move of his eyes flicking over her features, almost trying to find his answer there. She felt her cheeks burn with discomfort under their scrutiny.

"Leave," He finally commanded Yuffie, his eyes still dead set on the nervous Tifa. And even though his tone had been rather dark, Tifa found his voice to be musical and appealing, just like every other aspect of the man. He truly should not even be real. He was far too perfect not to be a god of some sort.

A quick huff of defiance escaped Yuffie's lips. Tifa watched her friend cross her arms and give Cloud a look of disinterest, "Look Spike, I don't have to leave if I don't want to. This is a bar, so the public are allowed in."

"We're closed," He informed her, even though he knew perfectly well that she knew they were.

She rolled her eyes, flipping a piece of her short hair out of her face, "I know that you're closed, but friends get special privileges. Tifa likes when I'm here, I keep her company," She told him, trying to draw out his anger through her choice of words. If she could direct his anger towards her instead of Tifa, she was quite sure that her friend wouldn't receive half of the yelling she had originally been set for.

Cloud's eyes darted over to Yuffie, finally breaking the spell they had been casting on Tifa's stiff form. She stood there, aware of her surroundings, yet unable to find the will to intervene. Just looking into his eyes for that long had made her fall to her mental fantasies.

"She does not need company, she has Marlene and Denzel. And I'm here now. So leave," He tried again, his body turning to face Yuffie now instead of just his eyes.

She rolled her eyes, tapping her foot impatiently, "Tifa hasn't asked me to leave."

"She doesn't have to ask you to leave, I live here too, and I don't want you here right now. So get out," He mumbled, his tone quickly turning into a nasty growl.

The ninja looked over at her visibly shaken friend, "Tifa?"

With a grit of her teeth, Tifa nodded in agreement with Cloud, "Just for a little while. Come back tonight, 'kay?"

Yuffie straightened her back, almost trying to provoke a reaction out of Cloud, "Alright then, I'll see you tonight. Hopefully Joyful Johnny will be in bed by then. See ya Tifa. Bye Spike. Take a nap, you need it," She threw at him as she bounced out the door. The heavy wooden door sealed with a small click, leaving the two completely alone.

Tifa's dark eyes shot around the room for something to busy herself with. She caught sight of the counter and came to the conclusion that she could never wipe it down enough. So she ran to the other side of the bar, grabbed a wet cloth, and began her cleaning, "So," She began, keeping her tone light, "How's the city? Lots of people out today?"

He had had his back to her from his small argument with Yuffie, but quickly she found him turned to look at her, his eyes still glowering with anger. Thankfully she was on the other side of the bar, her safe haven. Cloud normally didn't dare come on this side of the bar in fear of retaliation from the martial artist. Today, however, seemed to be just the opposite.

She watched him slowly make his way around the counter, making his deliberate walk towards her. Her throat felt thick as she tried to protest his invasion of her safe haven, but found no words. He stopped only inches away from her, the heat of his body radiating off of him as he regarded her. She swallowed in vain at the lump in her throat as she lifted her head to look into those beautiful eyes again, "C-Cloud?"

"Tifa, why didn't you answer when I called earlier?"

"I…I didn't hear it, Cloud. You know how loud and animated Yuffie gets when she's talking," She lied, her face showing all the clear signs of her sin. She was never a good liar, and she should know that he, of all people, knew better than anyone what she did when she lied.

"Didn't hear it, huh? I called twice," he informed her, his face clearly annoyed at her fetal attempts at clearing her name, "Stop scratching the back of your head, and how about you look at me dead in the eyes instead of the bridge of my nose?"

She had been had. Both things she did when she was lying. "I know you did, Cloud."

"Why didn't you answer?" He tried again, his voice dangerously even.

She shifted uneasily, trying to think of a nice way to put it, "I was scared, "She finally blurted out, her head falling downwards so that she could stare at the floor.

Silence filled their air for a few devastatingly long moments, "Why were you scared?" He asked her. She couldn't help but breathe in the smell of his skin as she stood close to him, wishing for nothing more than to just hug him and talk with him like they normally did. Tifa didn't answer, she couldn't. No words would ever begin to explain all of the regrets she had of that night with Reno. She would never be able to atone for it.

"Tifa, why are you scared?" He asked again, placing a hand under her chin and lifting her head up so that he could look at her face. As soon as their eyes were locked, he dropped his hand back to his side again.

"If you already know, why should I have to say it? That's cruel!" Tifa exclaimed, her own anger beginning to brew inside of her. She hated how he antagonized her whenever he knew something about her that she didn't particularly want him to know, this incident topping the list.

His jaw tightened, "I want you to admit it. I can't always go off what that Turk says. But he seemed rather adamant and descriptive, which is a rarity. That's why I called to ask you before I got home, that way you would have time to be mentally collected when I walked through the door."

She frowned. Even when he was angry he was still rather thoughtful. "And what did he say?"

"He was telling the inn keep about a night last summer with a certain Tifa Lockhart. The details are a little profane after that, I don't want to make you blush-"

"Cloud!" She gasped, her eyes wide with fright and astonishment, "You stood there and let him do that?"

He didn't answer, instead he leaned against the wall, waiting for her to confirm or deny said event.

"You won't make me blush because it's true. Last summer Reno and I had a night together. I was drunk, by the way. And you were off somewhere with a package that needed delivered. But that doesn't matter; you just let him trash my reputation?" She asked, demanding to know the reasoning behind his lack of protection.

"Apparently your reputation has already been trashed. How could you sleep with a Turk, Tifa? And Reno of all of them!" He asked, almost embarrassed of her.

She glared at him, gritting her teeth together to fight back the tears she was trying so hard not to develop. "It was a mistake. I was lonely; I didn't have anyone else to talk to. Yuffie was off somewhere with Vincent, and Marlene and Denzel were in bed asleep. You were gone, as you always are. Reno, however, seemed very interested in what I had to say. He was sweet. And we got to drinking and talking and then that happened. It didn't mean anything, besides; I'm a big girl, Cloud Strife. I can sleep where I want to."

His eyes flashed with an unknown emotion that Tifa had never seen in her years of being friends with the man. "Sleep where you want to? Is that you or Yuffie talking?"

Tifa shoved past him, finally losing her battle of fighting back tears. She reached the base of the stairs that lead to the upper house before she turned around, her face red, and her cheeks and eyes wet, "It's both. I'm a single woman; I shouldn't have to feel guilty if I act on my wants and needs. So don't stand there and judge me, Cloud. I don't say anything to you about your constant nightmares about Aeris, or the good dreams either." She watched as his form slackened a little with comprehension and embarrassment of his own, "Oh trust me, I can hear you scream at night. I'm a light sleeper, remember? It's either a scream of horror or one of pleasure. I never once said a word to about it, but the first time I act on my wants I get ridiculed like a school girl? You do not own me, Cloud Strife. You are best to remember that!" She spat, whipping around and stomping up the stairs, her hair and clothes flying around with her angry stride.

"Dinner will be in one hour!" She yelled down the stairs. It was followed with the slam of a door.

Cloud looked around the bar for a moment, fuming and unsure at the same time. He had never felt this way before, his spine tingling and his heart beating fast. And what was worse was that he had an uncontrollable desire to find Reno and murder him in the street.

However, the pain he felt of having let Tifa down was far greater. She was right; he had abandoned her when Reno was spreading about intimate details about their one night stand. Tifa was a good woman, who hated public attention in any form, let alone dirty sex stories. And what really burned was the fact that Cloud knew she had been a virgin the night Reno had taken her. He was Tifa's best friend and he had let Reno tarnish her reputation in one fell swoop.

Feeling defeated, angry, disappointed, and an unknown emotion, Cloud left the bar to detail clean Fenrir. Dinner was bound to be an uncomfortable situation, regardless of the children keeping it lively. He knew the looks he would receive from Tifa, and the looks he would be casting her direction as well. But what really pained him was that he knew she would not speak to him at all tonight or possibly for the next few days.

He was always fond of hearing what Tifa had to say, but this incident with Reno had brought to his attention that not only was he fond of hearing Tifa's voice, but that he needed it. That he needed to have her look at him, and playfully hit him, and care for him like she always had.

"That damn Turk," He growled as he grabbed a towel and began to shine the already spotless metal pipes of Fenrir.