Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or FFAC…unfortunately.

Rating: M for language, violence, and lemony happenings.

Author's note: Alright so everyone is starting to share my opinion, damn you Cloud get a frickin move on! Lol. Here's chapter 14, review and lemme know how it hit ya. =)

"You can stop giving me those dirty looks, ninja. I tried to warn you to stop it but you wouldn't listen, so that's your reward," Barrett grumbled, trying his best to avoid the dirty looks Yuffie was sending his direction.

"He did warn you, Yuff," Vincent agreed.

"Shut it, Vinny. He didn't have to hit me so hard!" Yuffie growled, holding onto her bruising arm.

"Maybe mock battles aren't such a good thing for our group of friends. Maybe we should just watch people fight and not actually be in on the fighting," Vincent suggested.

"Well like he has a right to hit me like that. Cloud didn't slash me in half with his sword did he? No, but Barrett thinks it's alright to punch a girl in the arm as hard as he can with a frickin' metal arm!" She wailed, throwing Barrett another dark glare.

The man shrugged, "Well at least I didn't shot you with that frickin' metal arm."

"SHUT IT!" Yuffie warned, shoving Barrett with a whimper of frustration.

"I'm hungry!" Marlene interjected into the useless argument, holding onto her stomach.

"Maybe Mommy has the food ready by now," Denzel offered aloud for everyone to hear.

"Yeah let's go eat," Barrett agreed.

Yuffie sighed, "Fine but I think our refs were biased. Why does Cloud always have to win everything?"

"Because he was the better mock-fighter," Vincent told her, stepping in stride alongside her, giving her fingers a slight squeeze with his hand before he returned his hand to his side.

Yuffie's face instantly brightened, her eyes twinkling automatically, "Yeah I s'pose you're right, Vinny."

"I'm always right," He corrected her, giving her a wink.

"Don't ruin it," She teased, pushing him away from her playfully.

Cloud watched the unfolding with curious eyes, taking up the rear of the group as they entered Seventh Heaven. The way Vincent looked and treated Yuffie, the way she responded, it was almost so complex that he thought he would never understand it, but then again it was so simple that he was sure he was overlooking something.

Upon reaching the kitchen, everyone's noses filled with the smell of spaghetti and breadsticks. Denzel and Marlene voiced their appraisals instantly, running up to a now recovered Tifa and throwing a hug about her waist.

Tifa smiled softly, bending down so that she could give them the hug that they deserved, "I bet you two are starving. I know that Yuffie can't cook."

"Oy, is this Annoy Yuffie Day? Cut it out!" The spicy ninja mumbled, falling down into her seat at the table. Vincent took his spot beside her, Barrett beside him, Marlene beside Barrett, Denzel taking a spot beside his adopted sister. Cloud sat down at one end of the table, the seat at the opposite end left open for Tifa when she joined them.

The others noticed the separation but said nothing, although it took every bit of discipline to keep Yuffie's mouth shut.

Tifa filled everyone's plates and set them in front of them, and brought out a bottle of wine for the adults, kool aid for the kids, "Alright everyone, dig in. I hope you like it," Tifa said softly, sitting down into her seat gracefully.

She kept her eyes down onto the table, eyeing her food like she had never seen the likes of it before but Cloud knew better. She was avoiding him. He let out a sigh as he took a drink of his wine, suddenly feeling a loss of appetite.

************

The lunch went well, Yuffie and Barrett keeping the conversation lively with their constant bickering about the mock fight from earlier. Everyone had cleared their plates and several glasses of wine before everyone said goodbye, Vincent and Yuffie leaving first after Vincent had dropped his glass of wine on Yuffie's shorts and attempted to clean it up for her. They had both locked eyes and suddenly decided to leave. Barrett followed shortly after them, giving Marlene a tearful goodbye, Denzel as well. With all the guests gone it left the household of Seventh Heaven alone to return to normal.

But what was normal? Even Cloud couldn't remember exactly what normal was here. Things had been so tense for over a week now that he couldn't even bring to his memories the way things used to be. The air was so thick with anxiousness that it was almost sickening. The kids caught on instantly, darting off to their room to play for the remainder of the day.

Tifa had attempted to thwart Cloud from helping her clean up the kitchen but upon seeing the devastation that awaited her she had decided that a little help couldn't hurt, no matter who it came from.

The tidying of the kitchen went along in silence for nearly half of an hour before Tifa finally let out a cry of pain, "Shit!" She exclaimed, holding onto her hand.

Cloud's eyes scanned over the situation to find that Tifa had seriously cut her palm with a knife she had been trying to clean…a little angrily he had to admit. "Let me see."

"No, it's nothing. I just need to get a bandage."

"Tifa let me see," he tried again, setting the plate he had been drying on the counter as he approached her.

"Seriously Cloud, just let it go."

"No, you're hurt. Now stop being difficult and let me see," he told her, snatching her arm and turning her enough so that he could look at her damaged hand, "You cut yourself pretty deep, Teef."

"I'm fine, Cloud. I just need a bandage."

"Let me do it, Tifa," he whispered, holding onto her wrist and leading her to the family bathroom. He flipped on the light and opened the medicine cabinet, his mako eyes quickly flickering over the items that littered the inside. He snatched the Neosporin and a cloth bandage before shutting the door of the cabinet.

"Shut the door," He told her. She hesitated but complied eventually, letting it settle shut with a click.

Cloud bent his blond head over her hand, wiping away the blood with a wet cloth, "I need to cleanse it, and it's going to sting."

"I think I can handle it," she muttered, her face tilted upwards so that she could look at the ceiling.

Suddenly Cloud let out a hiss of anger, his head whipping up to stare at her straight in the face, "Cut it out, Tifa."

Her face turned a red color, her eyes casting a vehement glare, "How about you cut it out, Cloud? You act all concerned over me but then you act like I don't exist. You can't seem to make up your mind. Maybe Yuffie's right, maybe you are bipolar."

He blinked, "Bipolar? Yuffie called me bipolar?"

"Bipolar Bob to be exact," Tifa corrected him, snatching the cloth from his hand and pressing it against the wound.

Cloud crossed his arms, his eyes serious, "I'm not bipolar. I just always have a lot on my mind."

"Well there's a news break, Cloud Strife always has something on his mind. Newsflash Cloud, I do too. Everyone does, they just have a better way of dealing with it than you do."

"You're just acting like this because you're pissed off," he growled, his back straightening. Her own body followed his motions, "No, I'm acting like this because I'm fed up. You and I have been friends since we were kids. We've been close and shared secrets with each other for years. And then this little flower girl comes along and ruins it all. And even after she dies you still can't get over her enough to realize that the girl that's always been there for you is still here. You still wallow in pain over a dead girl!"

His eyes widened in shock as he grit his teeth together, "Don't talk about Aeris like that."

"Oh I see," She said, her voice raising beyond that of a loud talk, it was quickly becoming a yell, "you can stand up for her but when a guy is trashing my reputation you can't even say a damn thing!"

Cloud was at a loss for words. She had a point but what was he supposed to do now that he had already let Reno say those things about her? "Tifa I'm-"

"'I'm sorry.' Yeah, I know. You're always sorry, Cloud. Well now sorry isn't good enough."

His heart beat quickly in his chest, warning him of the direction this conversation was going. If he didn't act fast it was going to go badly but he didn't know what to do. It was like he was frozen.

Tifa snatched the cloth bandage and wrapped it around her hand a couple of times before throwing the bloodied rag into the hamper, "You know what, I need time to myself. I'm going to take Fenrir for a little ride tonight and then tomorrow I'm borrowing it again."

Cloud didn't argue.

"And I want the dishes done and the kids put in bed by the time I get back."

"Tifa wait-"

"NO CLOUD! NO! I'm tired of this. I can't keep living my life like this, no matter how much it hurts me not to. I can't keep waiting for someone who doesn't want me."

"Tifa I can-"

She shook her head, those tears falling down her serious face again, "I'm sorry Cloud but I can't. I've waited too long. Life is passing me by. Reno called me last night and I think I'm going to go on that date with him after all."

All Cloud could do was shake his head over and over in denial. She sighed, brushing a strand of hair from her face, trying to fight back the form-wracking sobs that were trying to surface, "I'm sorry," she repeated. She didn't want this. She didn't want to let go but if she didn't she would be waiting the rest of her life for him and as much as she wanted Cloud to be the one that would sweep her off of her feet, her mind told her that he never would. But if he wasn't ever going to be what she wanted him to be then why was her heart telling her to stop?

"I'll be home in a little bit," Tifa told him, casting him a lasting look. It was beautiful but heart breaking at the same time. All the love she felt for him shimmered inside of them, but all of the pain and let down's she suffered also swam around in her beautiful orbs. She quickly left the bathroom, going to his room and grabbing the key to Fenrir. Cloud listened in silence for the slam of the bar door. It came.

"Come back," he whispered, his throat dry, body shaking,

************

At first it had been hard to adjust to Fenrir's speed, but soon she found the ride to be enthralling, her eyes wide with the feeling of adventure running through her veins. No wonder Cloud was so protective over this machine. It was life-changing.

Tifa's mind swam of the memory she held in her mind of when Cloud had apologized for being late. It made her smile slightly, her heart thundering in her chest, reminding her of the pain that she felt over the handsome warrior. She blinked at the wall of liquid forming in her eyes. Her vision blurred for an instant, but in that instant a couple of things happened. She had realized that she could never have anyone else but Cloud; that he was her reason for being, that as much as it hurt to have him love someone else that she would accept it. She would take Cloud any way she could have him and if she could only have part of him then she would gladly accept it. He was the air that filled her lungs, gave her heart a reason to beat each day. She couldn't survive without him and she would be thankful for whatever she could have with him, even if it wasn't what she had always dreamed about. 'I'm going to go back and tell him I'm sorry. Tell him how I feel, tell him why I was upset and tell him that I don't need him to force himself to love me, that I'll wait.' Then Fenrir hit a slick spot on the road, the monstrous machine's tires hydroplaning. Her vision had blocked her from reacting at the impending danger that was rapidly approaching. Finally she wiped her eyes clear, screaming in fear as Fenrir flipped over, hooking her shoes under one of its pipes.

The metal beast dragged her for a while longer before Tifa and Fenrir crashed into the side of a building, Fenrir's tires screeching over top of her, pinning her underneath its weight. Tifa stretched her arm out to grip for a street light, unable to reach it. The streets were deserted, not a soul in sight. Her body shook as the heat of the machine began to burn her back, "Someone help me!" She screamed, yelling in agony as the bike continued to burn and batter her. Her vision doubled as she stared at the street light, pain becoming too much to bear. Blackness filled her as her head fell to the ground with a thud, her body growing still under the still moving tires of Fenrir.

Goodness I loved that chapter. She let Cloud have it. Hopefully he got the hint. Someone hurry up and safe Tifa! Chapter 15 up in a day.

Much Love,

~Nikki~