Sorry for the wait! I got a little distracted with the rest of the story and wrote out the ending... heh, but don't worry, still working on the stuff in between. :) I'm actually not too happy with this chapter, but I still hope you all like it and will forgive me the errors I haven't found yet in my hurry to get this up!

Chapter 5

The wall was gray. It was gray, cold, and made out of cement. Perhaps in the light it may have been a more creamy color, but in the early morning gloom… it was gray. No matter how hard she stared at it, that didn't change.

With her arms tucked between her head and her pillow, a curled, womanly figure lay on her side, motionless. The cold didn't register with her, but not because of the robe loosely wrapping her body. She had been awake for over a day now, considering that sleep failed her over the night. Her eyes were dry and unfocused, completing her utterly vacant countenance.

He had spoken two words to her last night…. Two words. If only she had been lucky enough to be awarded as many glances.

"Cover yourself." He not-so-gently murmured, throwing the robe she had draped over a chair into her lap, whilst glaring down at Vincent.

She looked at Cloud wearily, after extinguishing the small warmth that had sparked from her brief fantasy that he was worried about her health. It had gotten slightly chilly with the onset of night in the bar, but Tifa disregarded it, perfectly fine in her thin night gown.

By the look he was giving the other man however, her feminine perception immediately recognized the heated warning Cloud was trying to relay. She had seen it many times on their journey to the save the Planet, at least, when Aeris wasn't around and Cloud was sane. Barret gave such looks indiscriminately to any man that looked her away a second time and Cloud only gave them when he noticed her looking back.

Vincent merely returned Cloud's glare with his own burning expression and slowly stood to his full height, towering over the ex-SOLDIER before turning and leaving the Seventh Heaven with a dismissive swish of his battered cloak.

Cloud slowly exhaled, as if he had been holding his breath. Tifa saw a proffered, gloved hand fall into her periphery, and without thinking, she accepted and allowed him to help her rise. As Tifa stood, her thread and needle fell to the floor, unneeded after Vincent's display and she merely looked down at the items near her feet, trying to understand why she felt guilty. Her brow crinkled and her pursed lips deepened into a frown. She couldn't shake that feeling that she had done something wrong despite knowing that she should feel outraged.

His large hand lightly fell on her shoulder and she heard his lips open, but nothing was said.

And nothing else was said as Cloud returned to his room, Yuffie left for Wutai, rolling the turbine looking device out the door and apologizing about the mess, and Tifa retired to her room, curling herself up on her bed and staring at the wall.

Tifa flexed her toes and rolled over, deciding that the bar wasn't going to be opened today either. Today, her walls weren't going to be gray anymore.

More than one person that day returned home disappointed after seeing the "Closed" sign on the Seventh Heaven's door, barely mollified by the obvious improvements being done on the inside. They often peered in before leaving in resignation, and depending on their preferences, admired the nubile form of Tifa Lockhart as she stood on her ladder and stretched out to paint as much of the wall as she could without having to move the wooden structure again. Her black shorts from her usual outfit were surprisingly spotless. Her lengthy legs however, were smeared with an assortment of colors representing her journey throughout her establishment, as well as the rest of her body.

The surprisingly attractive olive green above her left knee was the beginning of her journey in the downstairs den. The public bathrooms sported spatters of a light, icy blue on her elbows, and the kitchen became whitewashed, where not tiled, and left reminders of its presence crusted beneath her finger nails. Her private and upstairs bathrooms became a pleasant shade of yellow (her forehead and ear respectively), and the children's rooms became a terra cotta orange (the length of her right calf). Currently, she was almost half way done with the bar area and hadn't managed to get any paint on her form yet. It had taken her a lot of deliberating, but she picked another rather neutral color for the public area: a tawny color, that brought soothing warmth and calm to the room. With the room's dimensions and already present accents, it wasn't a bad choice and definitely not offensive for the usual crowd.

Tifa was very glad about how fast the process was going. She had Yuffie and Vincent to thank for that. They both had decided to stay in Edge for the night and had returned that morning to apologize once again for last night, clearly meaning the incident with the machinery, but hinting with their eyes the scene with her blonde housemate. Considering how early she had risen, morning had barely broken when she returned home with her gallons of paint, carried with help courtesy of old Mr. Fimmel who owned the hardware store down the street.

Her friends helped her tape and prime before applying the paint, which Yuffie was surprisingly was quite adept at. It didn't slow her chatter, but it was a welcome noise for the bar maid, who was very happy for the company. Every now and then, Tifa would catch Vincent watching her and she couldn't help the blush that would warm her face. As if a curtain had been drawn, she suddenly became very aware of him: his scent, his presence near her, his warmth, and that feeling of his eyes on her.

It was thrilling to have his attention, but honestly, she had no idea what to make of it. She was flattered, but nervous and more willing to disbelieve that Vincent had any sort of interest in her. Tifa had always known that he talked to her and Cloud the most on their mission, with Yuffie being the exception because it wasn't much of a choice for him in that matter. He appeared to be most comfortable with her; at least that's what Aeris had once said when they shared a room at the Golden Saucer Inn. Tifa admittedly thought he was incredibly creepy when they first met, but after seeing the face behind his collar and speaking with him, she felt strangely intrigued with him. Before now, she had never thought of him in a romantic sense. That was always certainly reserved for Cloud. Now however, with her decision to move on from her hero, anything was possible.

After receiving a call from Yuffie's father concerning their reason for being in Edge in the first place, they left reluctantly, gladly accepting some of Tifa's home-cooked food for the road. Turns out, the item Godo had wished for was a part of the machinery: Materia encrusted power cells that Yuffie oddly enough wasn't interested in. She preferred complete Materia spheres and not simply the slivers and shavings that Godo was interested in. Vincent was merely along for the ride, and the gil Godo was hired him with.

Apparently, her father's friend in Edge was experimenting in using minute amounts of the mineral as power sources. The Lightning Materia inside the machinery had been "swallowed" by the security robot who had been programmed to protect the man's projects and had thought Yuffie and Vincent were trying to steal it, despite its maker giving it to them. They had no choice but to fight it after the robot took the Materia and inserted in its chest cavity. Vincent ended up limit breaking into the Galian Beast and ripping the machine apart, leaving its chest cavity intact, and making its way to Tifa's floor. So, with a hug from Yuffie and a silent nod from Vincent, they were on their way after dinner, leaving Tifa with the bar and two bedrooms to finish.

Shortly after the other two left, Tifa looked behind her to see Cloud walking through the door carrying a brown paper bag and the usual sword on his back. She greeted him with a smile, willing her heart to stop fluttering, and said hello.

"Nice color." He said softly, closing the door behind him and dropping his keys and bag onto the counter. "I brought dinner."

Tifa looked back toward him and frowned apologetically, "I'm sorry, I've eaten already."

"Oh…" Cloud murmured, looking down, suddenly looking deflated. "Then, I'll help you finish painting."

She shook her head and waved him off with a hand. "No, no, that's fine. You eat first and then help, ok?"

He nodded and went about undressing his armor, boots, and dropping his sword next to the counter before washing his hands and bringing down a plate and silverware. Tifa couldn't help but catch a whiff of the food, immediately recognizing the sweet and spicy tang of her favorite dish from Ophelia's Diner. She looked back at Cloud with beseeching eyes and laughed as he was already holding out a fork in her direction as he peered into the bag and began pulling out items.

"You're cruel." She sniffed and grabbed his fork, sneaking a bite before pouring drinks for them.

Cloud merely smiled and dished out the entrée onto his plate, enough for both of them, knowing that Tifa wouldn't get a plate for herself and would just eat off of his here and there. He wasn't a huge fan of what they were about to eat, but he wasn't going to tell her that. It was enough that she enjoyed it.

After so long without seeing each other, she thought that they'd have tons to say, but that wasn't the case as they comfortably began to dine next to each other. They had done this many times before, especially in the beginning when they had first started the delivery service. Tifa would have finished eating by the time he got home and when he brought home her favorites, no matter how full she was, she was always lured to his plate, enticed by the smells and flavors he brought home. Cloud didn't mind it, often he even encouraged it by sitting next to her, nudging the plate in her direction, or simply holding out a fork. It was an intimate thing, but neither thought of it that way. It meant they were close, yes, but they figured that all friends did this sort of thing. Sharing food, drink, and even the eating utensils didn't make them think any more of it. The others never said anything about it, but the looks they shared with each other clearly warned that they better not either.

"And so, all that's left is this room and ours," Tifa finished explaining, but back-peddling after realizing what she said, "That is… my room and your room." She hurriedly stuffed in another fork full.

A blonde head nodded and took a gulp of water. "I think I'd like brown for my room."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I never would have thought you'd be a brown sort of guy."

His ears and cheeks turned pink. Bemused, Tifa asked what color brown.

"Dark… I don't know… maybe a chocolate brown. Like… your eyes." He ducked his head and looked away, already red in the face.

Tifa was silent for a moment before tilting her head, "My eyes are more red than brown, Cloud."

He dragged his eyes back to hers and scanned her face, "Now they are, but when you were younger, they were browner…" Tifa was taken aback. "That's when I know when you're thinking of when we were kids… or when you're worrying about me. You're eyes turn more brown."

She swallowed the food in her mouth heavily, tasting nothing, and searched Cloud's face, taking in the weary lines surrounding his beautiful eyes, and the guilty expression. Tifa had to look away, her mind whirling so fast that it felt like she was having two separate thoughts whizzing by simultaneously. There he went again, saying things that she would fall so easily for in that vulnerable but eager way of his. 'I'm looking too much into that. He simply likes brown, which happens to be the color of my eyes. It doesn't mean anything.'

"Well… I'm honestly not sure what I'd like for mine. I was thinking red." She supplied, forcing the conversation along.

Cloud's face suddenly became very serious as he continued to watch her face, trying his best to interpret her emotions. "Red?"

"Yeah… I can't really decide between a bright red and a darker, more crimson color." She chuckled lightly, nervously.

He looked away and picked at his food absently. She could sense that he had closed off and could nearly feel his aura darkening.

"Cloud?" She hesitantly reached out a hand to touch him but before she could he unseated him and brought his plate to the sink.

"Come on, it's going to get dark soon. We'd better finish at least the bar."

Tifa could feel herself growing sad and guilty, but took a cleansing breath and did her best to let it go. She didn't think that this would be easy, but it was difficult letting go of what her heart reacted with. She hated seeing Cloud like this, but she knew that she needed to stop caring for Cloud Strife if she were going to stop loving him.

It didn't take them too long. In fact, they were done within two hours. Thankfully, it wasn't as awkward as Tifa was afraid it'd be, especially considering how dinner ended. They talked about the kids, who Cloud had visited when he rode past Corel, and the progress of their businesses. They spoke of Barret, Red XIII, Cid, Reeves, Yuffie, the Turks, and even a bit about Aeris and Zack, but not a word of Vincent. Tifa noticed this and came to an understanding that she wouldn't mention him in front of Cloud. Assuming that Cloud was a little jealous of the other man made Tifa frown, first thinking that that was merely an arrogant thought in her head and then that even if he was jealous, it was just a day too late for Cloud.