Chapter 15: Revelations

Tifa looked at Leon and managed a strained smile of her own.

"Go send your friend outside to make sure you didn't leave a blood trail and I'll take care of your face."

Leon turned in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Cid, go outside and make sure we didn't leave anything that would lead anyone here."

The man he'd addressed looked with concern at the woman lying motionless on the bench but he got up and went out after checking out the window carefully. Leon joined Tifa at the sink but she noticed he stayed out of the window's view. At least whatever they'd done they seemed a little bit professional about hiding out afterward. Tifa wasn't sure that was reassuring.

Hands clean again, she had Leon sit in a chair at the table and set to work on his face. A wicked looking slash ran down from his forehead and over the bridge of his nose, just between his eyes.

"It's not that bad" he told her and she realized something must have shown on your face.

"An inch more either way and you would have lost an eye" she scolded him pointlessly, starting to clean away the worse of the blood so she could try to stitch it. He smiled but it was a quiet smile and didn't reach his eyes. His face didn't start bleeding again.

"It's good to know you're not keeping me around just for my looks."

Tifa gave him a look and went back to her work. Which wasn't easy to do because he was watching her. Watching her. This close together she could almost physically feel it.

"Close your eyes so I can do this" she told him and didn't say that his eyes being closed had nothing to do with the skin stretched between his brows. He dutifully closed his eyes for her and that made it easier. So she could lean close and concentrate on what she was doing and after she'd cleaned and sterilized the wound as best she could, she started stitching him up. His gloved hands came up and close around her hips. Hard. But he didn't make any sound or flinch as she worked. Silence fell and it lasted until after she'd finished her sewing, cleaned away the new blood and applied the bitter smelling salve to the gash.

"There." She straightened to look at her work and Leon gingerly opened his grey eyes. Tifa gave him a nod.

"It should heal well." Apologetic, she added: "It will probably scar."

He gave a shrug, one shoulder moving.

"It doesn't matter."

"It will make you look roguish" she offered, trying to lighten the mood. It made him smile, just a little. Satisfied, she started to step back – and couldn't. Leon's hands stayed curved around her hips. Surprised, Tifa paused and looked down at him. To find him looking very intently back up at her.

"I didn't think you were giving us your home address. Why are you doing this?" he asked softly and Tifa lowered her chin.

"You needed help." It really was that simple to her. Someone had needed help – in this case all the more powerful because it was someone she knew. His hands on her tightened.

"You haven't even asked why we were running or who we were running from."

She offered him an old smile.

"Leon" she put a hand on his shoulder lightly, not wanting to smear any more blood on him than was already there. "I'll find out soon enough. Whatever you did, people are going to know – and they're going to talk. We hear everything down here. I think – " she inhaled. "I think you're a good man. So I think whatever it is, you did it with a good heart and with good intentions. If it turns out I'm wrong – "

"We destroyed a Mako reactor."

"- then you were still – a what?" it snapped her out of her reassurances and her eyes went wide as she looked down at him.

"In Sector Three. We blew it up. It was Shinra troopers and a SOLDIER that were chasing us. The SOLDIER is the one that got both Shera and I. Came up behind us while the troops were keeping us busy." Leon's face tightened. "I didn't even get a good look at the bastard. He caught me in the face and then opened up Shera. Cid broke the walkway we were on and we all fell or we probably would have been dead."

Leon dead and she probably never even would have known… A SOLDIER… Tifa refocused the attention.

"You blew up a reactor?"

"Timed charge. That's what kept everyone busy while we escaped." He gave her hips a light shake which made her sway a little and his eyes were intent and intense in a way she'd never seen from him before. "Do you know what they do? That's Lifestream, Tifa. They're draining all the life out of the planet just so we can turn on lights after the sun goes down. Shinra is killing the planet. They know its dangerous but they won't stop – and it's got to be stopped."

Tifa had heard that argument before – and she didn't disagree. Agreeing however didn't change the fact that she had to have power to run the bar and she had to run the bar to support her family. It was like spending the money she would have used to stock the bar on food instead. A temporary solution to a longer term problem – but if they starved in the immediate, there wasn't much good in having a future saved for. Selfish and short sighted – but it was hard not to be when you had children that depended on you.

And yet – by using Mako power wasn't she stealing their future from them?

Tifa rested her hands on Leon's shoulders and looked down at him as she stood between his knees.

"They're going to send the Turks after you." He watched her with steady eyes and very lightly she touched his cheek. Exhaling. "How about this?" she suggested. "I'll close down the bar tonight. Sometimes I have to do that anyway so no one will think anything of it. You and Cid and Shera can stay here in the bar where you'll be safe and I can take care of you." She gave his shoulder a squeeze. "But you have to stay in the bar area. You can't go up the stairs. My father's upstairs and he's – sick. I don't want him to know about this. All right?"

His large hands on her hips squeezed gently back.

"All right, Tifa. You've helped us out and I've put you in a bad spot. I'm sorry. Your house, your rules while we're here. You have my word."

Tifa felt her shoulders relax and she gave him a smile.

"Good" her hands left his shoulders. "Now let go of me. I've got to go upstairs to tell my brother and sister what's going on before they decide to invent weapons and come to my rescue. You should check on Cid. I'll come back and make everyone something to eat after I get done checking on everyone upstairs."

Leon smiled and it did reach his eyes this time even though it was weary.

"Smart lady" he let go of her and pushed his chair back to stand up. Tifa just gave him a quick smile and moved to wash her hands and put away the first aid before heading up the stairs.

Denzel was near the inside of her bedroom door, listening no doubt, and Marlene was sitting on the bed with her legs tucked under her next to Cloud. She had one of his long fingered hands in her lap and was gently stroking the back of it. Both of her siblings all but jumped when she let herself in and shut the door behind her. With a hand she motioned Denzel over and sat down on the bed next to Marlene. Denzel pressed close and Marlene crawled over Cloud's unconscious form to snuggle against Tifa's side, still holding Cloud's hand in both of hers as Tifa wrapped an arm around both of them.

"All right. Here's what's going on." Tifa rarely hid things from Denzel and Marlene. They were a team. And besides, ignorance was dangerous down here. "Leon got into some trouble with a couple of his friends and they're going to hid here for a little while until its safe. One of his friends is hurt pretty bad." Against her will her eyes moved to the giant sword propped against the wall. The blade was clear of blood but that only meant it had been cleaned. She looked back at her siblings. "We don't want anyone to know they're here. Not dad, no one." Her eyes shifted again but this time they found Cloud's tight face and she reached out to touch his cheek, fingertips resting against his hot skin. "But we don't want them to know about Cloud either, okay? They're going to stay downstairs and we're going to keep Cloud up here and not mention him to anyone. He's our secret." She met Denzel's eyes and then Marlene's. "All right?"

Both her sister and her brother nodded firmly, eyes determined. Like Tifa, they were defenders of the weak and right now it was hard to imagine anyone weaker than Cloud. Tifa knew what Leon had told her – and it would take someone a lot more determined about denial to not realize that Cloud fit either the description of a SOLDIER with his huge sword or a Shinra trooper with his uniform. Either way, it wasn't a good mix. It didn't change her strong need to protect the blond vulnerable man in her bed. Leon and Cloud could work out their differences – on their own and when they were both up to it – if it came to that. But not now. Not in her house. In her house, she was going to keep everyone safe. Whether they wanted it or not. Gentle she smoothed the damp hair back from Cloud's forehead.

"He squeezed!" Marlene suddenly chirped and when Tifa looked at her, she held up the limp hand she was holding in both of hers. "When you started talking his fingers closed around mine and when you touched him just now, he squeezed my hand!"

"Maybe he can hear our voices and they makes him feel safe," Tifa suggested. As burning up as Cloud was, she thought that, even if he had been fully awake and aware, he would have had to be delirious. There was no way he could have understood what they were talking about. Which reminded her to change the damp cloth on his forehead.

"I'm going to have to go back down and I'm going to have to spend most of my time down there. So that means you two have to take care of Cloud and listen for dad. If you need anything you come down and get me but I want you to stay up here for tonight and in my room as much as you can, okay? I'll come back up here and we'll all sleep in my room tonight. Go get your mattresses and I'm going to go check on dad."

With missions now, Denzel and Marlene gave her firm nods and burst into action. She knew it wasn't normal. That most little kids couldn't handle the responsibility she gave them so much and they would have been more scared than determined. But – kids grew up fast down in the slums of Midgar. And Tifa knew that, even though she tried to be their mother and the adult – sometimes they remembered she was just their sister and felt as protective over her as she did over them. Marlene had laid Cloud's hand on his chest before she'd gone out the door and Tifa slipped her fingers through his, leaning low over him. His knit brows relaxed a little and it made her smile.

"You're going to have to entertain the kids for me while I'm busy, Cloud" she told him softly, watching his sleeping face, so very different when the power of his eyes wasn't behind it. "That's your job. To keep an eye on them and make sure they feel safe, okay?"

Of course it was silly because he couldn't keep anyone safe. Not even himself right now. Not in the state he was in. All he could really do was lie there. But she didn't think it would do his soul any harm if it heard. She'd seen him around Yuffie and thought it might extend to others if he had the chance. And then the teasing collapsed suddenly, leaving her chest feeling hollow, and Tifa wound her fingers more firmly through his.

"Please don't be the one that hurt Shera" she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. People died – because people killed each other. She understood that and she could only imagine how many people Leon's bomb had killed. But – she'd taken care of the other woman. She was so – mousy and small and – and small. What kind of man tried to gut – Shera was such a tiny thing. Two men in the group – who went after the woman first? For some reason it bothered Tifa more than she could explain.

Straightening, she gave his hand a light squeeze.

"It's all right," she told him softly. "Don't worry about it. I'm taking care of everything." Somehow… "You just take care of Denzel and Marlene for me, right?"

Of course he didn't answer. She hadn't expected him to.

She spent the rest of the evening busy taking care of her new guests. She didn't have any mattresses to drag downstairs for the group. Her father and her siblings kept theirs of course but she couldn't even offer her own because Cloud was on it. Leon didn't seem to mind though, telling her with an exasperated smile that they were used to sleeping with fewer blankets and pillows than she'd brought down for them. That they were used to eating less and a great deal worse than the full dinner she cooked up for them. She couldn't keep them entirely from the upstairs – it was where the bathroom was and both Denzel and Marlene found excuses to come downstairs so the two worlds didn't exactly divide but Leon's group stayed downstairs and the kids stayed upstairs. Cid sat next to Shera chewing constantly on a toothpick since he'd apparently run out of cigarettes, eyes staring off into space and his fist thumping unconsciously on his thigh. He ate three bowls of her stew though. She made a weaker broth for Shera and enough that she had extra for Cloud, but the small woman wouldn't take anything and didn't seem to move at all, barely breathing. Tifa found herself constantly checking for the small rise and fall in the blankets to signify that she was still breathing and, catching glances, she thought she wasn't the only one doing so. Leon went out several more times once it became true dark and Tifa worried about him. She could tell he was feeling guilty for Shera. Selfishly – Tifa was glad it was Sector Three that lost its power instead of Seven. As unreliable as it was down here – she didn't want to think about going through the night without heat or the ability to warm food. Again – how much was she willing to sacrifice the future for the present?

When she went upstairs to check, Marlene was sitting on the bed against Cloud, reading her new book out loud to him. Marlene made friends easily, much quicker than Denzel for example – but it still struck Tifa as interesting that the younger girl was physically touching the sleeping blond while she read to him.

"He likes it when I read to him" Marlene was confident and Tifa, looking, saw that Cloud's face was relaxed. His breathing was more relaxed too and it made something in Tifa's chest loosen. She had Denzel come over and help her and between the two of them, they got Cloud sitting upright on pillows. He swallowed what was put into his mouth and so Tifa left the kids with instructions to make sure he ate as much of the broth as possible and then went to sit with her father for a while. His world had gotten smaller and smaller each year and now he didn't seem aware of anything that existed outside of his bedroom. Tonight, that was a relief because it didn't occur to him to ask why it was so quiet downstairs or why Denzel and Marlene couldn't be heard in their usual night time routine outside his door. She made sure he took a bowl of broth as well and watched as he ate it all. Then she made sure he was comfortable and helped him turn so his breathing would be easier. The room was stuffy but she didn't dare open a window with it as cold outside as it was. Instead she took down another blanket and spread it over her father, giving him his nightly dose of medicine before tucking him in. She stayed until he fell asleep.

He never asked her to – but she saw the almost desperate way his eyes would follow her if she tried to leave before he was asleep. When he finally relaxed into sleep, she smoothed his thinning hair back from his forehead and gave it a kiss. There was a lot of forehead kissing going on tonight she speculated as she quietly closed his door and went back downstairs with the empty bowls. Cid was still at his post next to Shera's slack form but now he had a glass in his hand with a dark liquor in it. Tifa let it go that they were raiding her bar thinking Cid looked like he needed it about as desperately as she'd ever seen someone need a stiff drink.

Leon was in the kitchen. Washing the dishes of all things.

"You don't have to do that," Tifa protested and he turned his head to give her a smile over his shoulder. The wound on his forehead was startling in its newness.

"It's only fair" he commented as he went back to scrubbing. "We're eating your food and sleeping in your house, while you cook and take care of us. The least we can do is clean up after ourselves."

She hesitated, not used to people doing that kind of thing, and he took the opportunity to reach out with soapy hands and take the bowls from her. After a minute, she sank down onto one of the chairs at the table and rested her chin in his hand.

"You're just being useful so I'll invite you to stay longer" she teased gently and he gave her another smile over his shoulder. There was something just a little bit shy and hesitant about his smiles when he really meant them she was noticing.

"We'll go as soon as we can safely move Shera. But – you're cooking for us, worrying over us, making us feel safe… who wouldn't want to stay with that? Your brother and sister are really lucky to have a sister like you."

It warmed her inside and she smiled a bit softer.

"I'm the lucky one. They could have been terrors and instead they're the best friends anyone could ask for."

"They seem like good kids," Leon stated and finished up the dishes, drying his hands as he came over to sit down across from her. His eyes met hers.

"Tifa, I don't want to put you in danger. I wouldn't anyway but now that I've seen your world – I don't want to mess that up. Its – its rare, what you've made here."

"It is," she agreed. "But you can't mess it up. And Shera needed me. She still does. Denzel and Marlene understand what I've done and they agree." She reached across the table and lightly touched the top of his hand. "It's all right, Leon. You don't have to add me or my family to any guilt you're carrying."

His hand turned and he caught her fingers in his. Grey eyes serious and intent as he studied her.

"I'll do what I can to keep from involving you. I just – I really have enjoyed being able to call you and feel like I'm normal this past month."

She gave his hand a light squeeze in return. After a moment longer she slipped her hand out of his and stood up.

"Stay here tonight, Leon" she told him softly. "You'll be safe. And tomorrow I'll cook a huge breakfast for everyone. It will all work out, you'll see."

He watched her as she left. She could feel his eyes, quiet and intent, on her. She whispered her 'goodnight' to Cid and Shera and then climbed the steps and let herself into her bedroom. While the children got ready for bed, she wiped Cloud clean again, using the cool water to clear away the sweat and the sickness. The lighting smell was fainter now, she could hardly smell it on him at all and she checked, leaning down close to his throat to inhale after she'd cleaned him off again.

"How long has he been sick, Tifa?"

It was Denzel, standing in the doorway and Tifa shook her head to show she didn't know.

"He's got needle marks on his arms. Like someone had him hooked up to something." At her look of surprise, Denzel shrugged self-consciously. "We've got a boy in my class that's really sick all the time and the scars on his arm are different than the kids that drop out because they're hooked."

Curious, Tifa turned over one of Cloud's arms to look. She'd take her brother's word for it. Denzel joined her, crawling up onto the bed to join her as he forgot he was a teenager and too 'mature' for that kind of thing.

"See?" he pointed out. "He's just got a couple but they're really there. Like he's had something in for a long time. The druggies, they pop needles in and out all the time because of what it does to their veins so it messes up their arms more and they're smaller marks."

Tifa glanced over at Denzel, knowing she should either be worried or saddened that her little brother knew things like that.

"So he's been sick and having treatment?" she speculated and Denzel shrugged as they both looked at the inside of the otherwise smoothly muscled arm.

"Probably. Maybe" Denzel offered and Tifa hummed a thoughtful sound.

"He's got a scar on his chest too" Marlene offered it from the doorway and then shut it and crawled up onto the bed with the rest of them. "I saw it when he tossed his covers off once."

Since she hadn't wrapped Cloud back up in the blanket yet, Denzel and Tifa both looked out of curiosity to find what Marlene was talking about. It was the way they were when they were together. Nothing was really off limits to their mutual curiosity. Of course, Tifa was aware that Cloud was pretty much defenseless against the Lockhart siblings in his unconscious state. It was probably just as well for all of them. Sure enough, there was Marlene's scar and Tifa noticed several others as well. Some that looked very clean and others that looked ragged and ugly. None of them were fresh though.

"He gets into fights a lot, doesn't he?" Marlene asked and Tifa nodded, frowning.

"I think so" she answered softly and very gently pulled the blankets back up over Cloud, tenderly tucking them in around him before stroking a hand through his hair. It was silent for a long moment and then Marlene asked:

"Was he mean at the convention? You didn't look scared in the pictures."

Remembering the convention suddenly brought home just how bizarre this day had been and how far from that carefree and easy time she was. With an exhale, Tifa let her shoulders slump and tucked her legs up under her. Marlene leaned over to snuggle in against her side and even Denzel shifted a little closer so his leg rested against hers. She gave them both a tired smile.

"No. He was very nice at the convention." The tiredness threatened to become a thick wet blanket over her and she wrapped an arm around Marlene and the other around Denzel, resting the side of her head against the top of her brother's. She shut her eyes and focused on what was important. That her family was safe and they were together.

"He was – quiet. And – warm. Honest. He would say things just to see how I would answer, I think." Her words got farther apart as the moments stretched. "He made me feel safe, even though I wasn't in trouble to start with. Strong. And very gentle. He's got a little sister he adores…"

The last thought she had was that she hadn't called Yuffie and she needed to. Somehow, she never got past the 'minute more' she promised herself to get up and find the phone number.