Chapter 47: Storms
The next day shortly into their morning walk, the wind picked up and Tifa smelled a sharp, clean smell on it. Looking to the vast horizon, still bright blue with early morning she saw –
"Rain."
Both of the men turned their heads to look as well though they'd no doubt already figured it out too and Zack reached up to scratch the back of his head.
"Crap," he'd picked up the word from Tifa. "I don't think there's a village anywhere around here. We're gonna get wet."
Tifa, who could walk and look in another direction at the same time just as well as anyone else, kept her head turned over her shoulder to watch the gray clouds forming. The breeze against her face felt cool and promised wet and it made her smile.
It didn't rain under the Plates. Tifa was still in love with the concept of water that fell from the sky.
Cloud looked at the gray buildup too and then calmly shifted his direction a little to the south. Since he was in the lead everyone else followed though Tifa kept casting looks over her shoulder. Soon she could see the gray line that marked where the rain was actually falling in the distance.
She knew she was going to get wet and it would make everything miserable for the rest of the trip - unless it was a light rain and the sun came out early enough to dry them all off. She still couldn't scowl at the thought of rain. She'd fallen in love with rain in Costa del Sol where it fell as warm as bath water and cleared away to reveal breathtaking skies and brilliant colored sunsets. There was something wild and iced and rough about the way the rain coming toward them smelled though and Tifa wanted that too.
By the time they reached the stand of trees Cloud had been angling them toward the wind was strong and rough and carried little drops of water with it. It tugged at Tifa's dark hair, threatening to pull it out of the loose ponytail she'd taken to putting it in since she hadn't had time to get a hair cut and it was longer than she was used to. Its chill lay over her skin but only the first layer and she found herself turning her face into it so that she could slit her eyes and enjoy the way it felt, pushing at her almost roughly.
"Lockhart!" Zack gestured to her from where he and Cloud were already setting up their sleeping mats in a rough shelter deeper in the trees. "Get your cute little body under here before it starts raining."
In answer, Tifa slid her pack off her shoulders and handed it down to Red and then stepped further away from the cover of the trees. She spread her arms forward as if she were waiting for someone to come racing in to them and shut her eyes, tipping her head to the sky. The wild wind tore the ribbon she'd been using on her hair free and pushed it back from her face so that it could spatter her with the beginning dozen tiny cold kisses of rain. It made her smile and she drew in a deep breath. She'd get soaked, she knew – and it just didn't really matter.
Zack muttered something in the background about crazy women that the wind pulled away from his lips and ran away with but he sounded like he was smiling. The first wave of the storm hit Tifa then, a thousand tiny explosions of cold against her skin, the smell of wildness and strength in her nose. She left her eyes closed and braced against the push of it, raising her face for more. And then there was warmth against her back and hands that slid down to curve around her hips and drew her back against a solid form. That made Tifa smile too and she tipped her head back to rest the back of it against Cloud's shoulder so her face could stay tipped to the wild rain, parting her lips just a little so she could taste it too, cold and wild on her tongue. Cloud's hands slid, dragged, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she hoped he thought the way it made her tremble was because of the cold of the storm. Suddenly the cold rain was welcome because it also hid the heat that flared across her cheeks and she let the wind push her back against Cloud.
He was crazy. He was going to get wet, standing there in the rain with her.
She was so glad that he was.
Hands already dripping water she laid them over Cloud's and focused on the storm and the rain pouring down on both of them. With Cloud, solid and steady behind her, she didn't have to worry about the wind getting too rough and her hair quickly dampened down enough so that it plastered itself to both of them instead of whipping around. The thunder rumbled in the distance and deep in her chest but it was far away. There was just the wild rain whipped up over the plains and rushing its way inland. Tifa left her head back against Cloud's shoulder and let the water pour down over her face.
Tifa wasn't storm wind though and eventually the cold started to seep past the surface of her skin. With a low humming sound, she turned in Cloud's arms and found the shelter and warmth of his chest. His hands moved on her, sliding up her back, the other burying itself in her wet hair at the back of her neck. His touch felt as wild and controlled as the storm to Tifa's chilled skin. It was as if the storm had somehow gotten inside her chest and was busy raging through her veins, all cold power and wild need. When Cloud's fingers tightened in her hair, on the back of her head, pressed into the skin of her back and ribs through the fabric of her shirt strongly enough that she could feel the pressure of them it made –
it made her want to do the same. Made her want to push past his jacket and his shirt and bury herself against his skin. Her fingers knotted in the fabric of his shirt, nails digging in to hold him tighter and she turned her face enough to press it into his throat. Wanting – needing…
storm. She wanted Cloud to be her storm…
"Hey! Crazies!" Zack's voice from the safety of the trees. Amused but unapologetic. "Lightning's coming closer."
Yes, Tifa's mind thought. And then that single brain cell that somehow managed to keep functioning around Cloud from time to time reminded her what that really meant. And reminded her of what Cloud would probably think if he had the slightest idea of the edge her mind had just been slipping over. She felt her cheeks flush again and she was glad her face was hidden against Cloud.
"Come on," she murmured, starting to shift to move out of his arms. Except Cloud's arms tightened around her and his fingers dug in. That wonderful weightless jolt ran through Tifa and for a second it left her utterly helpless to do anything but cling to him the way she had been. Oh, yes, please, her heart wanted her to whisper and the only thing that stopped her was – she thought she'd already whimpered. The same way her knees wanted to give out on her and –
and what? Her cheeks really did go a deep red as her mind finally caught up with the physical responses her body was wanting to have and ran into that place where common sense hit up against absolute inexperience and tangled up with 'oh Gaia… what was I thinking?!'. She had to struggle to pull in an unsteady breath and it didn't help that it smelled like storm and Cloud. Her cheeks refused to lose their heat.
"Cl- cloud?" she managed to get out helplessly, the confusion at what the heck she was doing spilling into the word. She felt Cloud jerk in a breath and it jerked a rough sound out of him as well. His fingers in her hair knotted.
And then they relaxed and he exhaled, hand sliding through her wet hair to stroke gently against the back of her head.
"Come on," his voice was rough and low and he drew away to take her hand. Tifa kept her face low, only able to imagine what he'd think if he saw how hot her cheeks were still burning. She wove her fingers through his and let him lead her back into the shelter of the trees. The rain still fell here too but not blindingly and Tifa reached up to drag the fingers of her free hand over her eyes to clear them of water. And buy herself time to start breathing normally again.
Comforting touches was one thing. What she'd been thinking hadn't been about comfort though. What if she'd just lost the ability to be with Cloud comfortably because she'd let herself - ?!
Zack was chuckling and he held out a blanket for Tifa from under the cover of the mats.
"You're both nuts, you know that?" he asked cheerfully and Tifa was grateful for his normality. She ducked her head and smiled sheepishly as she wrung out her soaked hair. With a whispered 'thank you' she took the blanket from Zack and wrapped it around herself, hunching down to scoot into the shelter of the mats, being very careful not to look at Cloud. Red, comfortably dry, made a grumbling noise when she settled down with her back against his side and it made her chuckle.
"That's what you get for being dry," she told him unrepentantly and proceeded to start unlacing her boots.
"Huh," Zack scooted back into the shelter next to her and she looked up. Aware that, even as close as they were pushed together to stay out of the rain, Cloud wasn't with them.
"Cloud?" she asked and Zack shook his head. Jerked a thumb outside the shelter.
"Checking the area before we settle in for the night. I swear, sometimes he tries to show me up just to prove being SOLDIER First Class isn't all that."
Tifa exhaled a laugh but her eyes moved worriedly to the opening.
Had he noticed she was acting funny? Was he avoiding her because of it? Her only real hope of salvation was that Cloud seemed to be hopelessly clueless about women. She'd witnessed that often enough in Costa del Sol with the other barmaids and the tourists that came with partners or without. That reassured her a little bit and she settled in against Zack and Red, shrugging out of what wet clothing she could without revealing anything.
This was definitely the last time she stood out in a storm like that with Cloud though. That just wasn't safe for either of them.
She was braiding her hair by the time Cloud came back and feeling enough like herself that she could give him a soft smile. He returned it, just as softly, and then settled in on the other side of Zack.
"Why am I getting wet when I wasn't one of the crazies standing out in the rain?" Zack complained good naturedly and Red gave a grumble that sounded suspiciously like 'shut up and take it'. Which made Tifa start laughing and she felt much more centered as she tossed her finished braid over her shoulder and cheerfully asked:
"So – who's hungry?"
Tifa had found that food was a good solution to all kinds of things, and it helped her now, settling any worries she'd had about awkwardness between her and Cloud. He took the cold pouches from her easily enough, no hesitation in his moves and he contributed with his usual short answers as she and Zack carried the conversation. By the end of the meal Tifa was starting to feel the discomfort of damp clothes and the comfort of knowing that Cloud didn't have a clue what had been going through her head out in the storm with him earlier.
For which she was eternally grateful.
There wasn't much to do after that considering the rain was still coming down, now in a constant pattern since it had spent its earlier wildness. Tifa snuggled back against Red and dozed while the guys took naps as well as they could too. Soldiers apparently had the ability to go to sleep just about anywhere in just about any position, Tifa had noticed.
By late afternoon the storm had left behind a constant drizzle and Tifa crawled out from under the shelter to stretch her legs, cold and cramped from sitting in such a small position for so long. She hoped none of them caught a cold because of this. Heroes in stories didn't catch colds while on long, epic quests but Tifa wasn't in a story and she knew colds usually didn't care if you had anything important going on when they showed up.
The trees blocked most of the rain but none of the damp and chill. Even if she did change into something dry, it would be uncomfortably damp again in no time. She let herself daydream about a nice hot bath as she wandered back to their impromptu camp and crawled back under the shelter.
"Anything?" Zack asked without opening his eyes, bent forward over his raised knees. She shook her head and settled back down against Red.
"Nothing."
"Good. It's too wet to fight."
They spent the rest of the fading day dozing and alternately getting up to stretch their legs and wander around their small section of trees. Night fell and the rain stopped but the cold moved in. Finally Cloud stood up and rolled his shoulders.
"Let's keep going," he looked down at his companions and no one argued. Sleeping, really sleeping, as damp as they all were wasn't likely and the cold was starting to move into muscles and joints. "North Corel is just a little way over."
