Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or FFAC.

Rating: M for language, violence, and lemon-ness.

Author's Note: Last chapter was a bit crazy but here's the next chapter for you all. Hope you like it. Review!

It was nearing ten at night and still Tifa had not returned from her ride on Fenrir. Cloud had cleaned up and put the children to bed just as she had told him too. But he also was the stand in bar keep while she was away. He mentally commended her for all the hard work she did throughout the day and then the job of dealing with the local drunks was another ordeal entirely. Two women in particular were making it rather hard for Cloud to get anything finished. Clingy wasn't the word for it, but he ignored them, they were drunk and definitely not his type. But what was his type?

His eyes glazed over as he fell into a daze, taking empty boxes from underneath the bar and taking them to the supply room, setting them to the side so that they may be thrown out at a later time.

Cloud's blue eyes sank closed as he took in a deep breath, clearing his head. Now wasn't exactly the time to be thinking about what his heart desired but if he didn't do it now he wasn't ever going to do it. Something told him that now was when he needed to figure this out. 'Compare the two, Aeris and Tifa. What's the same, what's different?' He thought, running a gloved hand through his spiked hair.

'Aeris was kind and enjoyable. Tifa is both of those things as well. Aeris had light eyes, light brown hair, light skin…she was comforting. Tifa has dark brown eyes, black hair, light skin…she is trust, compassion, friendship, loyalty…security. Aeris was new and exciting. Tifa is familiar and loving. Aeris was brief but Tifa…Tifa is withstanding. Tifa is-'

He blinked at his stupidity as he finally realized exactly how stupid he had been, "Tifa is mine," Cloud told himself, his eyes losing their murky color as he turned around. He exited the storage room with swift movements. He had to find her and tell her how he felt. He was done playing with her emotions and pining after a woman who would never return his adoration. She was in a better place with Zack, they were happy and they were happy together.

"Hey, bar is closing early tonight. Issues have come up that need immediate attention. Sorry everyone," Cloud announced to the inhabitants of the bar. There were a few protests but mostly just grunts of acceptance as everyone got their feet sloppily and left. Cloud followed the last person and locked the door behind them. He turned off the light and darted up the stairs, grabbing the phone and calling Yuffie. On the second ring she answered, "Yuffie I didn't mean to bother you but I need you to come here and watch the kids for a little bit."

The other end was silent, "Do you realize that you're a buzz kill?"

Cloud rolled his eyes, shifting his weight impatiently, "Look, come watch the kids for a little while and I'll forget that you run around calling me Bipolar Bob all the time."

Again the other end was silent for a moment and then he heard her clear her throat. "I'll be right over."

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

Yuffie had arrived nearly half an hour later, her face red with embarrassment over his discovery of her nickname she had deemed for him. Cloud had left in a hurry, grabbing his sword just for extra precaution. He let out a growl upon remembering that Tifa had Fenrir. 'Well it's definitely going to take longer,' he thought, sucking in a breath as he broke into a full out run, glancing this way and that for any signs of Tifa and Fenrir, or the slightest sound of Fenrir's loud engine.

The streets of Edge were silent except for the slight murmurs from inside houses. Many lights inside windows were turning off, indicating people going to bed for the night. Jealousy tore through his body when he thought of the possibility that Tifa could be with Reno at this exact moment. 'He better not even touch her.'

He ran for what seemed like an eternity, the gnawing of anxiousness rising in his stomach from not seeing even the slightest sign of Tifa or Fenrir. This wasn't like her. She would typically go out for an hour or two and be back. She had been gone for nearly eight hours. "Something's wrong," Cloud told himself, observant blue eyes darting over the scenery as he continued his frantic run through Edge.

The outskirts of the city drew closer, grass making its way into Cloud's realm of vision. He was nearly an hour away from Seventh Heaven by now. 'She wouldn't have gone out of the city, would she?'

He came to a halt when he heard the rotating of metal sloppily hitting the ground. His instincts activated as he ran that direction, the street lights flickering. This part of Edge was abandoned and beginning to fall apart. 'This area should probably be condemned,' he thought to himself.

"Where did that come from?" The ex-SOLDIER asked himself, holding in his breath so he could listen for the slightest noise. It sounded again. He took off the direction that the disturbance had come from, his run quickly changing from quick to ungodly fast. Something in the pit of his stomach was pressing him to quicken his pace.

Cloud rounded a corner, finding a lone street light illuminating a dark alley. He approached cautiously, the sound of the scratching metal growing louder with each step he took. He went to stand beneath the lamp, staring down the alley with strained eyes. A flash of metal told him that he was where he needed to be.

The blond took decisive steps down the alley, using the glow of the light as much as he could. That's when he saw it, two overly large tires spinning uncontrollably, the metal pipes of Fenrir rubbing against the ground with an unforgiving screech. The machine let out an eerie hiss as yet again another expulsion of heat seeped from its insides, "What the-?" He didn't finish, he didn't have time to. His confused eyes found something more than just Fenrir, more than just a metal object that could feel no pain. Underneath all the rubble and hot metal and outstanding weight of his beloved bike was a limp form, black hair completely covering their face and arms, except for one hand that seemed to have been outstretched for whatever reason. His heart stopped, everything in the whole world stopped as a flashback of when he found Tifa in the church after her encounter with Loz plagued his mind. She had been hurt so badly then. But now…

"Tifa!" He called to her, running to the bike and inspecting the damage it was inflicting upon his long time friend. She wasn't moving but appeared to breathing. Cloud ripped the key from the ignition, tucking it away in his pants pocket. Fenrir immediately stopped its bellowing, the wheels slowing to a stop, the hissing and moving of the metal stopping completely.

Strong arms grabbed the side of the bike, gripping at the pipes to help remove the beast. "Hold on Teef, I'm trying," he consoled an unconscious Tifa.

There was a loud squeal of protesting metal as Cloud dragged it from on top of her, sparks flying as the pipes screeched against the ground. Finally freeing her from her captor, Cloud huddled down and pulled Tifa's unmoving form into his arms. With gentle movements he brushed away the locks of black that concealed her face.

"Tifa-" He whispered, looking at the damage that Fenrir had inflicted upon her. Her face was blooded, along with her torso and upper arms. He lifted her forward upon feeling heat streaming from her backside. His eyes fell upon a completely burnt dress, exposing flesh that appeared to be burnt as well. And the leg that had been locked in the pipes of Fenrir appeared to be bent in a direction it shouldn't have been.

"I told you that I had a good reason not to let you borrow it," He scolded her, holding her securely in his arms as he got to his feet, quickly running back towards Seventh Heaven. He wasn't any good with healing spells but Yuffie knew enough that she could at least heal the burns and perhaps even the leg.

Cloud kept his eyes on her motionless face the entire run back to Seventh Heaven. If this wasn't a sign he didn't know what was.

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

"OH MY GOD TEEFIE!" Yuffie screamed, rushing forward upon Cloud's return to the house.

"Help me, Yuffie. She's hurt pretty badly."

"What happened?" The ninja wailed, helping Cloud sit Tifa down on the couch in the family room.

"Fenrir flipped over on top of her. She was trapped underneath it. I have no idea for how long."

Yuffie nodded, reaching into her pouch, shaking a vile of what appeared to be a potion, "Well this will help a little."

Cloud held Tifa's head while Yuffie slipped the liquid down her friend's throat, making sure that every last drop made its way to her stomach. She reached in her pouch again and pulled out a remedy, "This should help out with some of the burns," she told Cloud, pouring its solution down her throat as well.

"Her leg?" The sword-wielder asked, eyes intent on the items being put into Tifa's mouth.

"Um…" Yuffie sifted through the contents in her pouch and frowned, "I think we'll have to take care of that one the old fashioned way. Go grab some pain killers, a wrap, and two pieces of wood."

Cloud nodded, settling Tifa's head down gently. The younger of the two women ripped off her head band and lifted up Tifa's dress. She shook her head at the wounds she had received from Fenrir, "That damn bike," Yuffie cursed, mopping up the blood as best she could.

"Got it," Cloud announced as he returned to the room, settling at Tifa's leg. He slipped off her sandal and threw it to the floor, placing the two pieces of wood on either side of her injured leg, and wrapped them tightly into place, "There, her leg is stinted."

Suddenly there were two wails of horror. Yuffie and Cloud whipped around to find Denzel and Marlene hunkering down near the doorway, their eyes wide and unblinking, "What happened to mom?" Denzel demanded, his arms shaking around Marlene's shoulders. He was trying to be strong but the fear that he was experiencing was far too great to pretend to be unafraid.

Cloud got to his feet and bent down in front of the kids, "Tifa just had an accident while she was riding Fenrir. She just got hurt a little bit-"

"It's because of you!" Marlene whimpered, recoiling from Cloud's touch.

"Yeah, Mom was happy until you did something to her and then she was sad again. Mom hasn't been happy in a long time and you ruined it! She ran off because of you! It's your fault!" Denzel growled at Cloud, his eyes serious.

Cloud froze as he listened to their accusations. He constantly swallowed at the lump in his throat to no avail. He knew they were right. It was his fault. "Marley…Denz…I'm…I don't know what to say."

The two kids shook their heads angrily, denying him the right to continue on in his apology.

"Now the wounds," Yuffie told Cloud, frowning. Suddenly Tifa jerked upwards, her eyes flying open, "SOMEONE HELP ME!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, clutching at her waist.

"Tifa, we're here," Cloud whispered to her, rushing to her side. Marlene and Denzel had shrunk into the hallway at her scream, their arms and legs shaking with worry.

"Cloud?" She gasped, her eyes desperately searching for him. He removed a glove from his hand as he touched her cheek. Scared brown eyes fell upon him, an instant smile coming over her face, "Cloud, I knew you would come. You promised," she whispered as she licked at her chapped lips.

"Tifa, just relax," he told her. She winced in pain, "My whole body hurts. My back feels like it is on fire."

"Shhh, just relax Teef, Yuffie and I are trying to get you all cleaned up."

Tifa nodded slightly, a bloodied hand reaching over so she could lock her fingers with Cloud's. He returned the favor, bringing his face close to hers, listening to her breathing.

Yuffie continued her dressing of every one of Tifa's wounds while Cloud comforted the injured martial artist, "You really had me scared, Tifa."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her body writhing as Yuffie cleaned out her wounds.

He gave a slight chuckle. Even when she was hurt and should only be worried about her own well being, Tifa was worried about how she had treated him. She had been right in how she had acted, he was the one that should be apologizing but he knew that she didn't want to hear it. She was tired of hearing his excuses. "Don't apologize; I'm just glad you're alright."

"No Cloud, I'm sorry about earlier. You don't have to pick between me and Aeris. I understand that you don't want to be with anyone after her, so I'll be just fine being your friend, like I always have been," She whispered, her voice catching on her false statement.

"Don't talk like that, Tifa."

"It's true."

He shook his head, "No it's not and you know it's not. Why would you seriously cheat yourself out of something you deserve just because you don't think you can get it?"

She smiled slightly, "Cloud?"

"Yes, Tifa?"

"I'm tired."

He laughed a little, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear, "Wait, I need you to take some pain killers first."

Cloud got to his feet and disappeared, casting the two adopted children a sympathetic glance as he went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for Tifa. He returned to the family room moments later, kneeling down in front of his friend. He grabbed the pain medicines and sighed, "Alright, open your mouth."

She did as he commanded, her trembling lips parting enough for him to slip the two pills into her mouth, "Alright now, take a drink and swallow." Again she complied, her face grimacing at the roughness of the pills as they slid down her throat, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Tifa. Now, go to sleep. When you wake up all of this will be over and you'll be feeling better."

"'Kay," She whispered, her head falling to the side with fatigue. Cloud ignored the smirk on Yuffie's face as he squeezed Tifa's hand. Never before had she been so beautiful in his eyes…perhaps this had been what he had needed to see what he had in front of him all this time. What he's always had.

There was chapter 15. So cute!!!! Chapter 16 up in a day or so. Review and lemme know how it went for you all!

Much love,

~Nikki~