Chapter 8: Family
"Stop humming."
Aerith looked over at her friend, large green eyes innocent. Which meant she was anything but.
"I'm not humming."
"Yes. You are." Tifa stated it factually. "You're mentally humming. I can tell."
"Well, can you blame me?" Aerith turned her head to give her friend a grin. "That's two cute guys in less than two days. And they were nice cute guys. Not the kind that hang around your dad's bar." She glanced down at Tifa's clothing. "You should wear mini-skirts more often obviously."
Tifa snorted a sound and shook her head.
"Stop teasing. You know this is just for the convention. Neither one of them would ever step foot anywhere near where I live normally."
Aerith stopped and caught Tifa's arm to draw her around and look seriously at her.
"You're wrong," she stated, green eyes impossible. "You're so really wrong, Teef. They'd come – if they knew it was where you were. They liked you. Really." She paused and cocked her head to look at her dark haired friend. Blinking in surprise. "And you know it. Why don't you want them to like you?"
Tifa shifted uncomfortably, making a slight face but Aerith had her wrist firmly. It wasn't often that Aerith went digging around in Tifa's personal baggage – so when she did, Tifa took it seriously and tried not to stop her. She exhaled instead and looked away at the sunshine coming in one of the large windows.
"I don't… I don't want the trouble. I don't – boys make everything so complicated. And everything's so complicated already. Sometimes" she pressed her lips together and then looked over at her friend. "Sometimes I don't think I can do a single thing more than I already am without falling apart or breaking in half or dropping everything, you know? And they were nice, both of them, but – it wouldn't last. Something would happen and – and I just can't – I can't handle one more person leaving me right now. Not now. Okay?"
She was surprised to find her throat tight as she admitted the last and she shut her eyes tight. Knowing that Aerith was going to give her the 'if you never try' speech or the 'not everyone leaves' platitude or the 'loved and lost' crap line everyone liked to feed people when they weren't going through it themselves. In her head, Tifa knew her reasons for avoiding getting involved with people weren't good or healthy ones. But her heart… it just couldn't handle one more crack in its surface right now. And she thought – right now – as unhealthy as it might be to stay alone – it would probably be disastrously more unhealthy to be with someone. Aerith surprised her, which shouldn't have surprised her, with a hug instead of a lecture.
"Well, than – I'm glad you've made me your friend" the brunette told her and Tifa gave a laugh that sounded close to tears and rubbed at her eyes while she held on to her friend desperately tightly with her other arm. She wasn't broken. Tifa didn't know if she could ever really break. But she was – wounded. Just for now. Tifa wasn't going to avoid relationships forever. Just… for now.
"I don't remember you giving me much choice" she joked and Aerith gave her another squeeze and then stepped back with a smile, lacing her hands behind her back as she tipped forward on her toes.
"Good ones never do" she chirped and then tipped her head. "Come on. They've got a live chess match. This year it's Clone Troopers vs. Jedi."
The Jedi won – mostly because they cheated, but a good time was had by all and afterward Tifa headed off to a lecture on armor through the ages while Aerith disappeared into an origami film demonstration. Tifa had already buried what Aerith had dug up by that point. It wasn't anything she hadn't already known and it wasn't anything she could change at the given moment – so it got buried. Besides, she was on vacation – the first in forever. Now wasn't the time for introversion.
She did however keep an eye on the time and slip out of the lecture to find a quiet place to make a phone call, timing it so that she'd call just before the kids got back from what passed for school. Another reason for the internet – Tifa refused to have what they were taught in school be the only knowledge her brother and sister had. As she'd hoped, Barrett picked up the phone and his voice, if anything, got even louder and more boisterous when he realized who it was.
"Hey, girl! Bout time you called. You havin' fun topside? Not gonna move in with some rich guy and leave us all down here, are ya?"
It made her laugh and his voice made her strangely homesick even though she'd only been gone a few days and it wasn't really all that far away. Just – down really. She cradled the phone against her cheek and leaned into the corner she'd found for privacy. Funny how she felt better in a huge building full of strangers than alone in a hotel room.
"How could I ever leave you, Barrett?" she teased. "Who would cook me breakfast?"
"It is true. I make a mean omelet," he agreed with a rolling laugh. And then, because he was her friend and knew her so well, he answered without having to be asked: "Your dad's okay, kiddo. He's complainin' that I'm not you. Don't know how you make him happy, he's so picky."
An old complaint and one she knew he meant but not in a hard way. She smiled.
"I'm irreplaceable, Barrett. Its just good to remind him sometimes."
"I know, baby girl. I don't know how you manage things. Everyone's askin' for you every night at the bar." He snorted. "Apparently the beer tastes different when its not you serving it."
It made her laugh and she tucked into the phone just a little more.
"How are Marlene and Denzel doing? Are they helping you?"
"Aw, you know those two, Teef. They run this place better than I do. You got some good kids there. Don't you worry about a thing. Everythin'll still be here when you get back. And hey – you havin' fun? Enjoyin' yourself? Nobody's bothering you are they? Cause you know I can just hop one of those trains and be right there."
It had her laughing again and put a warm glow in her chest.
"No ones bothering me but Aerith, Barrett. Everyone's just having a lot of fun and being friendly. And there's sunshine here. Good food too. Aerith won a competition she'd entered her art in and we had ice cream to celebrate. I'm going to try to find a way to bring some back for everyone."
"You're gonna spoil us all rotten. An' – hey, here's your boy. Denzel, get yer butt over here. Your sister's on the phone!"
"Which one?" she could hear Denzel's voice faking disinterest in the background and Barrett started to sputter –
"Which one do ya – you little smart ass!" as he caught on. "Jus' for that I shouldn't let ya talk to her."
But she heard the phone shifting and then Denzel's voice.
"Hey, Teef! Dad's fine. School sucks. I miss you, Marlene's bossy. And" she caught the way the voice rose so it could be overheard, "Marlene's got a boyfriend."
"I do not!" the protest was loud and vocal from the distance, followed by: "Who are you talking to? Is that Tifa? Let me talk to her!"
There was a scuffling sound and then Marlene's voice.
"I do not have a boyfriend. He's just a kid that wanted to carry my books home for me. I hit him."
"That's my girl" Tifa was laughing. Marlene huffed over the phone.
"Barrett says he'll scare him away if he comes back. Hey, are you taking pictures so I can see everything when you get home?"
"Yeah, lots of pictures" Tifa answered feeling soft and homesick again but not in a painful or bad way. "You'll like them. I even got a couple pictures of the Henchmen 21 and 24 from the Venture Brothers for Denzel." Tifa didn't even have to see it to know that both she and Marlene were rolling their eyes since neither one of them got what Denzel's fascination with the cartoon was.
"Do you – want to talk to dad?" Marlene sounded hesitant and Tifa shook her head before remembering that only voices carried over the phone.
"No. Its okay. Just tell him I called and checked in." Tifa loved her father, she really did. But – he had a way of making things – tarnished. And she didn't want this – this time, this adventure to have to be tainted by the way he'd talk about it. It was as if the black that was slowly eating away at his lungs had moved into his soul. Except… sometimes when she tried to remember how he'd been before he got sick… she thought he'd always sounded the way he did now.
"Okay" Marlene's voice was back to its usual energy level. "And when you get back – I'll show you. I'm learning how to make dinner. I'm not as good as you but Denzel actually ate my meat pie last night instead of trying to hide it long enough to throw away."
"It sounds good" Tifa agreed over the sounds of Denzel's protesting in the background. "I can't wait. Now go make sure you both do your homework. And don't stay up too late tonight. You know Barrett has no idea about your tricks to stay up past bedtime."
"Of course not" Marlene was cheerful. "Than they wouldn't be tricks anymore. Love you, Tifa. Come home soon."
"I will, sweetheart," she promised. "Tell Denzel – "
In the background Denzel's voice was piping his own love and reminding her about the banner. It made Tifa smile.
"Tell Denzel I love him too and I haven't forgotten."
The phone line went dead and Tifa stayed the way she was for a little longer. Just savoring the way hearing her family's voices had made her feel inside. She enjoyed getting out and she was enjoying her vacation away from responsibility but – they were her world. She could go out and do what she did because they were always there to come back to.
"Who's Barrett?"
Tifa jumped at the voice and spun around. Usually she always knew when there was someone close to her. It was just a natural instinct developed through the years of living in the slums under the Plate. Even distracted by her family, she should have noticed someone coming up behind her.
Close behind her, she realized as she practically found her nose buried in shirt and that made her eyes widen again. Her fists clenched in reaction but then her mind registered who it was.
Cloud.
It puzzled her that she wasn't more surprised. Raising her head she looked up at him and again, his blue eyes filled everything for a long moment.
"You said you leave your brother and sister with him." His low voice prompted her. "Who is he?"
"Barrett's a friend of the family. He's been around forever." She didn't usually answer personal questions and certainly not personal questions asked by people she hadn't even known for more than a couple of days. Her mind registered that it should have been a possessive question. One male checking out another male and the threat level. Her life was full of possessive men and she was always on guard against it. So why was she answering Cloud?
"He drives a truck. Freight between the cities. Whenever he's in town he stops and stays with us. He helps out around the place, fixing things."
It was because of the way he'd asked, she realized. Because of the way he was watching in curiosity now. Because – he'd asked as if it were the first thing that had come to mind and he didn't realize it might have been considered personal. The way children asked questions. Without any motivation but answering the 'why?' in their head. Cloud had asked the question with all the innocence of a child and Tifa had automatically responded to it by actually answering.
Cloud nodded at her answer and for a moment she had the oddest impression that he was consciously filing the information away.
He was also still standing – very close to her. She could smell him, that warm, clean smell that her nose was starting to recognize as 'safe' and 'familiar'. Tucked away in the corner she'd chosen there was no backing up or moving away from him unless Tifa learned how to melt through walls. One of his arms was raised, forearm against the wall, but it was more as if he'd been leaning there waiting for her to finish her call than done it to trap her. Again, as if he was unaware of personal space the way a child was, not as if he was male and hunting. How long had he been behind her? She wondered suddenly. How could she have not been aware of him?
Especially when she was so very aware of him now…
"Where's Yuffie?" she asked and realized she'd been staring into bottomless blue eyes again when they blinked. Speaking of children – she didn't seem to have the adult manners when it came to not locking eye contact. But than again – neither did he.
"She sent me to find you. She and Rikku – 'Edward' are putting the final touches on their skit for the contest and she wanted to make sure you would come."
"Cheering section?"
"She's nervous. You make her feel stronger." At her look, his eyebrows shifted slightly in a facial shrug. "Its what she told me."
"oh." Tifa wasn't sure how you were supposed to respond to that kind of thing. She supposed there was only one way to respond.
"Well, let's go" she answered with a smile.
