Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ff7 characters or rights thereof. So don't sue me .
BRIGHT EYES.
Cloud and tifa are still having trouble after the events of doc. The deepground troops have all but been exterminated and the wro have officially sunk whatever plans the old shinra company had formulated.
But for some small reason cloud still can't seem to just be happy, and tifa is having strange thoughts towards the ex soldier. What happens when all the fighting comes to an end? Does it ever truly end at all? A mysterious stranger will assist the hero find his purpose for living after the end of journey.
A day to be alone:
He awoke to the sound of children giggling and a young woman laughing hysterically. The innocence that the scene portrayed almost brought tears to his eyes.
A family was something he was new to. He couldn't remember his family from childhood. Years of combat and even a few inside a holding tank, coupled with severe mako addiction had done good on erasing most of his memories. Now however he wasn't worried about things he couldn't remember.
He focused intently on the children who had crawled innocently upon to the bed where his injured body slept. In simultaneous harmony they squeaked 'cloud get up' as if coaxing him into a game that he had been playing at another point in time.
"Leave him alone you guys he needs his rest." Tifa chuckled as she pried the small girl from around clouds neck.
Outside was dark like a coming storm. For a moment cloud wandered whether or not real storm would occur.
About five miles outside of the city Vincent valentine stood watching the clouds cluster. Something was amiss and he wasn't eager to find out what. Suddenly lightning painted the skies like a gods rage.
"Id better call cloud. Something's wrong." He spoke to the quiet as he reached for his phone.
The phone rang and rang but with no answer. And with that Vincent decided to do what he rarely considered a good idea, he would venture into the city limits.
He debated highly on the matter continuing to watch the wrath of nature build. He stayed very still until an unearthly roar erupted from sky, and a large flaming mass fell from its maw. Was it a mans voice or just another monster. Not particularly interested in letting his conscience eat at him later for leaving a man to die he hesitated slightly and then left in the direction of the objects point of landing.
"kara!!!" the voice screamed into the dark piercing Vincent's ears. Whatever just happened had obviously happened to a human, or at least something similar to a human.
He followed the burning path that the object had made to a rather large crater. The hole was blackened as if Ifrit had used it as target practice.
"Kara….." the voice was quiet as if an injured person spoke. However Vincent wasn't sure what the phrase meant. Was it another language perhaps a cry for help? He made sure to watch his footing but he was suddenly caught off guard when a great force of unknown origin accosted him and threw him to the ground. "Kara…." It was as if this voice was warning Vincent to keep his distance.
"Who are you? Show yourself" Vincent said reaching instinctively for Cerberus.
"Leave me alone" the voice surprised him. It was dark and intimidating, yet subtle as if pleading with him to keep his distance "Kara…."
"What does Kara mean" Vincent said still cautioning himself while traversing the smoke.
"Stay… away…." It was definitely a man. Injured more than likely.
Vincent thought for a moment to heed the advice of this disembodied vocalization until the smoke cleared. At the center of the blackened hole in the earth was a man, looking to be in his twenties. Shoulder length blond hair an oddly placed metal plates covering his chest and upper body. His hair hung over his eyes in an unkempt fashion hiding an obviously deadly gaze. However though he didn't appear to have any external injuries he seemed weak and was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"Who are you what happened? Who are you? Are you damaged?" Vincent attempted to close the distance on the man.
"Ugn… stay…. Back" the man cautioned as he lifted his left hand which looked to be covered in blood though the man had no cuts or lacerations of any kind.
He blacked out within seconds of his warning. Vincent at first thought him to be dead and considered leaving him to be devoured by the birds, but with a heavy conscience already burdening him he sighed and retrieved yet again his phone.
"Seventh heaven" the voice on the other end of the line answered "business hours don't start till later but if you'd…" Vincent cut her short
"Tifa it's me"
"Oh Vince if you're looking for cloud he's not really feeling so good I can…"
"I need some help"
"What?" her confusion set in "what did you do? Did you kill someone?"
"No" an exasperation like none that could be explained came with the comment "I have an injured person who needs immediate attention I have no way of transporting him"
"Way ahead of you…. Cloud I need to borrow fenrir….. Thanks"
"I'm about three to five miles outside of town. Follow the smoke"
"Smoke, what the hell did you do?"
"Hurry ill explain later"
Vincent stayed very stoic and reluctant to touch the man for fear that he may actually have been awake and waiting for a chance to strike but after several minutes and no sign of tifa he searched the man.
No wallet no identification not even a trace of something the man could be recognized by. Just an old photo of him and some girl with red hair. Then it struck him.
"Kara? Is that a name?"
He checked the man over for injuries in an almost vain attempt. His bloody left arm had no indication that the blood even belonged to him at all. Vincent's thoughts remained completely engrossed on what might have happened until the familiar roar of fenrir could be heard over the horizon.
Pocketing the photograph he stood up and fired Cerberus into the air. Within minutes tifa had arrived.
"You banged" she said as she killed the engine.
"Not amusing. He's this way" Vincent's demeanor often irritated tifa but he was still a friend regardless.
"So is he all right did he get attacked?"
"Ill tell you when we get him somewhere safe" Vincent was eyeing the surroundings noting that there were no birds or insects.
The lack of wild life made him uncomfortable. It usually meant monsters were lurking in the vicinity. Noting this he acquired the man's form and rode with tifa back to the bar.
The trio made an awkward appearance as they sped into the garage.
"ok lets see where is he hurt?" tifa said as she killed the motor again.
"I checked him for injuries. He doesn't have any."
This did little to stop the barmaid from checking herself once she found a place to lay him. Vincent however was right there were no injuries to be found which baffled the already confused tifa. Her thoughts then returned to the daily livings of the bar and she laid the grounds for Vincent.
"There's a room upstairs. If you want we can keep an eye on him. We know you stay busy doing whatever it is you do. But clouds room is off limits he's on bed rest until further notice. This guy's got a lot of explaining to do when he wakes up. As for you vince your welcome to stay but I do need some help." Tifa pointed out help with pleading eyes.
For some reason he just couldn't ever turn her away. He blamed fate with this cruel sense of chivalry.
Meanwhile cloud had been sitting up. The one thing tifa expressly told him not to do. Granted he healed faster than the average human. Tifa however showed little care for this and would often berate him for being stubborn and childish when he quite simply refused to do as she said.
He pondered first what to do until tifa declared him fit to move about the house. Writing wasn't something he often relished and reading could only be done when his mind was not clouded by thoughts of the young barmaid he had so come to enjoy the company of. He was slowly coming to a standstill what with the lack of base talents he had so obviously missed as a child. He wasn't an artist or a musician but for some reason the tiny keyboard that sat at the corner of the room seemed to attract his attention.
It was a small electronic keyboard. He remembered he had bought it as a gift for Marlene who had wanted to take piano lessons earlier. She had apparently left it in the room either as a sign of friendship to cloud or as a natural lack of sophistication that all children were at some point inevitably guilty of.
Assuming the later, cloud picked up the instrument and memories flooded him. Random thoughts and conversations that had seemingly no meaning. And then he remembered zack. 'Follow your dreams' the voice was as clear as day yet it didn't make any sense.
Why would a keyboard bring back memories of zack? He pondered for a long time before he eventually activated the instrument. His marred hands ran over the keys and allowed him to get a feel for the instruments sound.
He was like a little kid with a new toy. Tapping random buttons and keys he found himself immersed in trying to play. Finally as if getting onto a bike after months without one he started to play. He didn't know what or even how he was doing it but a melody erupted from his hands. Soft and melancholy tunes mixed with both sorrow and pain.
The more he played the more the memories came back. Zack and Aeriths last moments. His oath to be perhaps his only friends living legacy. The town that had been laid waste by Sephiroth . the fight with kadaj. The war with deepground. Even the last time he went to the church in midgar. All of his memories and his sorrow welled up into a tune that seemed to embody clouds pain.
"follow your dreams. And protect your soldier honor."
"you waited too long"
"I would never do that to you"
All of the voices of his friends came back as if to remind him of his pain until suddenly he saw Zack's face in the back of his mind. And with that his tune ceased.
"I never knew you played." Tifa spoke softly as she leaned against the wall.
"oh.. Tifa I'm sorry I was… well if it helps neither did I" cloud attempted to take advantage of her awestruck state to cover for his being out of bed.
"You should be in bed…"it didn't work "but it was beautiful. Where did you learn that?"
"I don't know it just came out." He stared at the keyboard as if it were diseased while he stated this.
"Well whatever the case I wanted to see you. So I came up here. Are you feeling any better let me check those stitches." She stated nervously as she placed her index finger on her lips in a fashion that screamed embarrassment.
Cloud complied by removing the shirt he bore and unraveling the bandages from his torso. The wound was healing at an astounding pace. But I was still in a bad spot. It wouldn't be fully healed for a few days at least.
"So what's been going on why did you need fenrir?" he asked to break the silence that had taken over sense the removal of his clothing.
"It was Vincent. He needed a ride."
"Don't lie it doesn't suit you." He chided "what really happened is Vince okay"
"Yeah but he found someone."
"Way to go Vince is she pretty?"
"Well it's not like that and it's a he I think."
"So Vincent's gay?"
"No you idiot" she was becoming irritated quickly with clouds antics. "The guy apparently got hurt but we can't figure out where or how. There are no cuts or bruises not a scratch on the guy. But he's really weak."
"Are you sure you didn't just find a starving hobo? Who is he?"
"That's the other problem. He doesn't have any ID what so ever. It's like he doesn't even exist. But hes obviously not a hobo. He dresses weird but hes not a homely person. I think maybe he might be from another continent but Vincent hasn't given me the details yet."
Cloud continued to listen to the barmaid. Completely oblivious to the fact that his hand now rested itself on her shoulder he watched her mouth move. How could he have missed it? She was gorgeous and he never realized just how much. The conversation was lost to this inevitable infatuation until she broke his concentration.
"Cloud helloooo?" she echoed in his ear
"Uh… what… sorry tifa" he apologized for his lack of attention
"you were staring. That's impolite you know." She smirked "but if you wanted the attention so badly why didn't you just ask?"
Cloud was confused for a matter of seconds before he noticed tifa's hand gently coursing itself along his chest.
"Tifa the kids." He attempted to intervene on behalf of his own shame.
"I locked the door and besides Vince is playing babysitter."
The thought of Vincent valentine babysitting two hyperactive children amused clouds thoughts for a few moments before tifas hands became more explorative. The lithe little things were obviously curious and to a small extent perverted. She was exploring 'every' single detail of his body.
For lack of a better phrase he tought it was exciting. 'exciting' however was at best an understatement and the bulge of his lower extremities attested to such.
"Is that a sword or are you just happy to see me?" tifa giggled as she applied pressure.
"Tifa please this is hardly appropriate."
"Oh relax I'm just softening you up for later."
"Tifa it's not that I don't like…"
"I know I know. So what do you want for dinner? I'm out of ideas."
Downstairs Vincent cursed himself for being mentally weak to resist his friend's request. The children apparently had an endless supply of energy stored up the tiny bodies they possessed. And the man in the upstairs room whom he had several questions for had still yet to stir.
"Why are you so scary? Why do you wear that glove thing? Your eyes are weird. Why do you wear a cape? Are you a superhero?"
The incessant questions both flattered and annoyed him. Why had he let tifa get the better of his judgment? He made a mental note never to allow an opening for tifa to exploit later. He was now for all intents and purposes at the mercy of the tiny tyrants.
"Why do you have to ask so many questions…." He attempted to end the barrage with a few questions of his own
"Alright you guys stop bugging uncle vinvin." Yuffie kisaragi had just walked through the door.
She was dressed in her normal attire of shorts and a midriff. But for some reason she caught his attention. He was ,however little, thankful for the assistance she brought.
"yuffie!!!" the children squealed in what most people including Vincent would often mistake for a battle cry signaling death for the intruder whomever it may be at the moment.
"Hey you two. What have you been up to? Hey Vinnie" the nick name she used for him was at some times irritating but for now she was saving him the indignity of two children trying to use his cloak as a clever hiding space.
"Hello yuffie. How are things on your end?"
"Great barret just finished setting up his last rig. I wander what those things are for? Cid finally managed to fix his bird and I think I'm finally over the airsickness. Other than that there's really nothing interesting. What about you any interesting monsters getting gunned down by the great Vincent valentine? What about people? You got a girlfriend yet?"
The conversation at that came to an abrupt halt. Vincent was not one for personal conversation and he had no want to continue conversing with a person whose mentality portrayed that of a child.
"ooh no such luck I take it. Don't worry Vinnie we'll get you laid" she grinned as she elbowed him.
"Yuffie language. I told you about that already. The kids…" tifa scowled as she trudged down the stairs
"Aww come on Teefs don't be such a killjoy" yuffie whined.
Upstairs cloud hesitated to pick up the keyboard again. A strange feeling like that of an old friend approaching came over him.
"FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS"
The voice of his fallen friend hung heavy on his ears and he turned in shock at the realism of the sound.
"zack?" there was no one there "maybe I just need to be alone for a while."
He shook his head to clear it of the randomized thoughts and laid back down upon the bed. Hours it seemed like. He laid there in the quiet. He barely breathed and didn't move in any sense of the word.
He almost didn't notice the smooth soft fingers that found their way to his face. Or the gentle pull of those fingers in the direction of a soft chest. Was he really awake? Was he dreaming or maybe he was just imagining the moment but for now he would take a rain check on his day to be alone.
Throughout the night he felt the presence of the young woman not truly seeing her face but knowing well who it was. She made him feel secure. Like he was meant to be himself. Her presence soothed him. The feel of her skin against him made him feel alive. The pressure of her breasts against the back of his neck comforted him. And the thrum of her heart lulled him into a peaceful stillness that was envied by the dead. She was his dream even if that was all she was. His dream his tifa.
