Chapter 12: Last Day

Tifa let herself sleep in the next morning, waking up just enough to give Aerith a groggy smile as her friend left for the day. Given a choice, Tifa thought she might have liked to be a night owl but she'd never really had the choice, or the opportunity, to find out for sure. Still, sleeping in was a rarity at home and so, even though it meant she was going to miss some of the early morning events, Tifa took the chance when it was given, pulling the pillow over her head and tucking into a ball under the covers.

It felt like heaven and no one woke her up coughing or trying to be quiet or banging on the door.

For her last day she just put on pants and a shirt. 'Rita' only had two outfits from the movie and Tifa was planning on doing a lot of running around today anyway. Mini-skirts weren't meant for that kind of thing.

She'd made a pretty decent amount of gil from her stint the night before. It made her think. People tipped better at parties and conventions and Dix did catering so that meant all he did was parties and conventions. She couldn't leave her father's bar but maybe… maybe, after – after – when she didn't need to keep dad's bar running for him anymore… maybe, just maybe, she might be able to make enough to move her and her siblings upside. If she worked her tail off for Dix and he helped her find a really cheap, really small, really run down place to stay… It was only an idea, a dream, but it was something she filed away in the back of her mind for the future. She loved her friends where she lived and there were parts of living there that she enjoyed.

But the kids deserved something better. They deserved sunshine for instance. Tifa was going to find a way to give it to them. Somehow.

For the moment though she tucked her money in her pocket and packed up her single bag. Since they were leaving late tonight the room had to be checked out of early. Nicely enough though Aerith's friend had offered to let them keep their luggage behind the front desk counter until later that night. It beat carrying it around the convention all day or trying to fit it in a rented locker.

Out of old habit, Tifa did a careful double check of the room to make sure they hadn't left anything behind before she let herself out and turned in the key as well as her bag. Then, feeling both lighter and a little bit sad at the thought of it being the end of her grand adventure, she headed over to the convention center.

First thing was the Firefly 'round table'. She sat in the audience and enjoyed listening to the actors tell stories about their time working on the program and then she stood in line for what felt like forever to get an autographed picture of her sister's favorite character/actor. He was friendly and open though and so it wasn't so bad getting to listen to him talk while she waited in line.

The actor was certainly more polite than the character that was for sure.

It took longer than she'd intended however and so she had to bolt once she was finished, dashing all the way across the center to get to the promo for the latest X-Men: Origins showing. Aerith had saved her a seat though and she slid in just before the lights went dark. They stayed in their seats and chatted afterward while the seats filled up again and they set up the showing of the latest Miyazaki movie. Then they stopped by the food court and bought something to eat while they headed for the sellers' booths. Aerith had found the banner dealer from last year and Tifa spent what was probably too long fingering through the offerings before finally deciding on a red lion like creature with a flame tipped tail on a deep yellow background. It looked – noble to Tifa and she thought it would appeal to Denzel. Her brother liked to pretend he didn't care as much as he did but Tifa knew that not far below the careless exterior Denzel had had to put up to keep from being picked on by the kids his age, he dreamed of being – more. A hero. Noble. A protector of innocents and a righter of wrongs. Tifa understood that and encouraged it in him whenever she could. So he got the noble looking lion like creature.

Marlene already had her picture but because of the extra money she'd earned, Tifa bought her a crown of ribbons and dried flowers too. That had been meant to be the extent of her purchases but Aerith dragged her over to a jewelry booth and Tifa was lost when her friend held up a pair of white moonstone earrings.

"Do you like them?" Aerith asked and Tifa, despite herself, held the long teardrops up to her ears in the mirror the dealer provided. They dangled cheerfully and looked feminine and delicate. They made Tifa feel… girly. Which wasn't something she usually had the chance to feel. With a sigh, Tifa reluctantly set them back down. She just couldn't justify buying herself jewelry. Aerith caught them up immediately and handed them to the dealer.

"We want them," she told him firmly and Tifa protested.

"No. We don't. They're nice but I can't – "

"I can" Aerith told her firmly, reaching down to pull up her purse. "I knew they were meant for you but I wanted to see your face before I bought them."

"Aerith" Tifa put a hand on her friend's wrist. "I can't wear those."

Aerith gave her a soft smile.

"Yes, you can, Teef. They're not so expense you have to worry about being mugged. And they look so perfect on you. I want you to have them and I want them to be a gift from me. So you'll think of me whenever you wear them." She found her wallet and counted out the gil. It hardly left her with anything.

"There. See?" Aerith held out the bag the dealer handed her. "Now I'm happy too."

"You're rotten" Tifa told her, pulling her into a tight hug. It made her heart swell and feel as if it were breaking at the same time. Only sweet, silly Aerith would think of buying her something pretty and useless. And yet Tifa couldn't stop herself from putting the earrings on right then and there much to her best friend's delight.

"In that case, I'm treating to dinner tonight" Tifa stated and Aerith nodded with a grin.

"You bet you are."

"There you are."

Tifa looked over at the sound of the voice to see Leon cutting past a table to join them. She was struck with a moment of embarrassment – simply because he was a guy paying attention to her in a way that wasn't the 'flirt because I'm drunk' way.

"Here I am," she agreed with a nod and Aerith waved a hand in greeting as well when he gave her a nod.

"I thought you might have snuck off last night and not planned on finishing out the convention" Leon met her eyes when he said it and Tifa felt her cheeks heat again. It wasn't as if she wouldn't necessarily have.

"No. I'm here," she answered and he gave her a smile. "But I won't be here tomorrow" she felt compelled to tell him now that he'd called her on the trick. He nodded and his smile went a little crooked.

"You're not planning on calling me, are you?"

Caught again, Tifa shifted a little on her feet.

"It's that blond, isn't it? He beat me out." He didn't ask it with malice but the simple question itself startled Tifa.

"Cloud? No! It's not – I don't – "

Leon held up a hand to tell her she didn't have to stumble over her words anymore and grinned.

"Good. As long as it's not some other guy I can work with that. Even if it was another guy I could work with that; I'd just want to know. How about this? You give me your cell phone number and I'll call you."

Before she could stop herself, Tifa asked:

"Why are you doing this?"

His quiet smile reached his eyes.

"Being persistent? Because I don't want to not see you again. I'm not ready for that yet."

It made something in Tifa's chest go weak and funny and she gave him a helpless look. He responded with a soft smile and she thought she saw a little of the real him peeking out past the face he put on for everyone.

"It can't hurt. If you decide you don't want to talk to me, you just don't answer my calls when they come in." He shrugged. "And who knows? Maybe you'll want to talk to me when I call instead."

"Do you have a pen?" Tifa asked weakly and he grinned and borrowed one from the jewelry dealer along with a card to write on the back of. Then he was gone with her phone number and a wink for her and Tifa was looking helplessly at Aerith as the dealer behind them smirked.

"What am I doing?" she asked her friend and Aerith just grinned and linked her arm through Tifa's.

"I think you're starting to live a bigger life than you were" she answered with a smile and started them walking to the next exhibition.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. An exciting and enjoyable blur but a blur all the same and before she knew it, she and Aerith were leaving the convention center for the last time. Tifa turned her head to look at the building as they walked away from it. She'd seen Rikku and her friends. She'd even seen the two fan girls that had insisted on pictures with 'normal Rita'. She'd had fun – more fun in the past couple of days than she'd imagined and she'd felt free of responsibility and worry. It had been like a wonderful dream…

"I saw Yuffie this morning but I haven't seen him all day" Aerith commented and Tifa looked away from the building to look at her. On the edge of asking 'who?' – except it would be lying. She knew who Aerith was talking about.

"It's okay" Tifa told her. "He knew I was leaving today." At least she didn't have to feel guilty about sneaking out on him. If she hadn't had a chance to say a real goodbye… well, that was probably for the best anyway – and she had the address to Yuffie's website. She could look at pictures there…

Why she would want to look at pictures of him, Tifa was just starting to decide might not be something she wanted to think about too closely as she pushed open the door to the hotel lobby.

And saw blond shaggy hair near the front desk.

"Cloud – "

He raised his head from where his chin had been resting on his chest and straightened away from the wall, uncrossing the arms from across his chest. His eyes, impossible blue, met hers and stayed there. Tifa had the oddest urge to reach out and touch him and stopped herself before she could start reaching.

"What are you doing here?"

The edges of his lips shifted upward.

"Going to the train station," he answered simply. Tifa blinked at him and then her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips.

"Now that's silly," she stated flatly. He just looked at her with quiet amusement in his eyes.

"We don't need an escort" she tried again and the amusement stayed in his eyes as he reached down and picked up the two bags Aerith had just retrieved from behind the desk. The hotel clerk watched with unconcealed interest.

"I'm just walking to the train station," Cloud stated calmly. "Its not my fault if you're headed that way too."

Tifa pressed her lips together. She was tempted to tell him they weren't going after all. But the last train was leaving soon and they couldn't afford to stay another night in the hotel. She knew it was just sheer stubbornness that wanted her to protest. It was no big deal if he wanted to walk them to the station. Except… except it was thoughtful and protective and unexpected and – and it was too gentle and kind and sweet to be directed at her. Gentle and kind and sweet would only get her in trouble if she learned to think it was normal. Cloud was watching her with patient eyes and she shook her head, the smile touching the edges of her own lips.

"You're as rotten as Aerith" she told him and he looked at the brunette with a mild smile.

"We must be in good company," he told her and Aerith giggled.

"We are," she agreed before adding: "But we'd better go or we're going to miss the last train."

Cloud wasn't talkative walking to the train station beneath the street lights and Tifa would have been suspicious if he was. The silence didn't seem to bother him though and Tifa found it strangely comfortable. He walked between her and Aerith, both of their bags tossed over one of his shoulders. At the train station, Aerith and Tifa showed their ID and bought tickets after their cards had been cleared. The trains were the only mobility between the Plates above and the slums below and they were heavily monitered. Cloud looked at the ticket booth with eyes intense in their blue but didn't attempt to buy a ticket. Which made Tifa feel a bit better. Bad enough he knew she lived in the slums. She really didn't want him seeing where she lived. Not that she was ashamed of living where she did – a person took what life gave them and made the most of it – it was just…

Cloud belonged to the memories that were carefree and fun and laughing and 'normal' for someone her age – above the Plate things. When she went home she'd be back in her own life instead of playing in someone else's and – the things from her brief trip into 'Above' didn't belong 'Below. If they did… if they did she might want more than she should and Tifa knew how dangerous that was. Her bar had its share of drunks that had once wanted more.

Cloud stood a little behind her and Aerith while they waited for the train to arrive, effectively blocking the other people on the platform from crowding or bothering the two of them. Tifa watched him from the corners of her eyes and watched the way he was studying the train tracks, the overpasses, the platform around them – all without moving his head to do so. 'Cataloging' again. She laid a hand on his arm and his eyes shifted to look down at her.

"You don't have to wait," she told him and for a second he smiled at her and it was suddenly young and boyish. Something in her chest turned over and seemed to melt at that smile and her hand stayed on his arm.

"I want to" was his simple answer.

"Do you go back to Wutai after this?" she asked, wanting to talk to him, wanting to have his blue eyes watching her the way they did. Wishing, foolishly, that she had more time now…

"Just to take Yuffie home."

"Then where?" she asked when he didn't offer more and his eyes watched hers.

"I don't know," he answered and she remembered he was in the Shinra army and probably went wherever they sent him. Her fingers on his arm tightened without her realizing it and he tipped his head down toward her in response.

"You'll be careful?"

"Probably not" he answered and she felt the edges of his hair brush against hers. The edges of her own lips twisted painfully upward.

"You're supposed to lie," she told him and his eyes searched hers. His softly throaty voice was quiet as he seriously answered:

"Not to you. Never to you, Tifa."

The breath tightened in her lungs and constricted her throat. That didn't make sense. None at all and yet…

"Train's here" Aerith sounded apologetic and distracted Tifa turned her head to see that it was already stopped and people were already loading in through the open doors. Suddenly torn, Tifa looked back up at Cloud. He just smiled softly and dropped their bags off of his shoulder so that they could each claim theirs. She needed to go. Tifa knew that. It was just –

On impulse she reached out and slipped her fingers down his cheek and was rewarded as his impossible blue eyes lidded and his exhale breathed long and slow against her wrist. Then Aerith was tugging her arm and dragging her onto the train. Cloud's eyes opened and he calmly watched without expression on his face.

"You have my cell phone number," he reminded her and then the doors slid closed and the train moved away from the station. Against her will, Tifa thumped a fist against the wall and the few people that were in the car with them moved a little further away. Aerith wrapped her arms around Tifa's waist and rested her chin on her friend's shoulder.

They didn't talk the entire long circling ride down to their level deep in the darkness under the Plates of Midgar.