Thanks once more to my faithful readers. (: This chapter is a good one in my opinion, and I hope that you enjoy it. Please review! And if you're a Kingdom Hearts fan, check out the OC story I'm working on and the other KH oneshots I have posted. Thanks guys!

Chapter 22: Questions

It had been six days since the day that Tifa was rescued in the woods by her friends. She slept on and off throughout that period, and she tried to stay awake a lot of the time so that her friends could fill her in on everything. Obviously she missed a lot, considering that she had been separated from them for a few weeks. How did they find her? Did Cloud get her letter? What did Reno have to do with her rescue, if anything?

But those were questions that she never really had the chance to ask. Whenever she was awake, Cloud and everyone else was hounding her about her experiences. And she managed to convey things clearly most of the time, though that didn't halt their questions. Every time they talked about Tifa's side of things, she got so tired and worn out that her friends insisted she slept before they conversation ended. And then whenever she woke up, they'd start the conversations again.

It was annoying, and painful.

Everyone but Cloud knew about her past relationship with Rude when he kidnapped her. Barret had filled Cloud in on what happened between Tifa and Cloud, and that probably helped them figure out Rude's motives. He was jealous.

But Tifa was having a hard time grasping the fact that she once dated that maniac. He seemed so sweet at the time, so caring and so loving. What set him over the edge? Had she done something wrong that could have prevented this whole thing? But…What about Kadaj and his gang? It felt like forever ago that they were alive, but how were they even there? Was it coincidence?

Tifa Lockhart sighed, rolling over in her bed at the millions of questions that haunted her. But then she groaned at the pain that she still suffered with because of Rude's brutality. Several of her ribs were broken and she was achy all over, but she knew things could have been worse. Much worse.

"Cloud! Tifa's awake!" Marlene cried, bolting upright from her spot next to the bed and running out the door. "Cloud!"

Tifa forced her eyes open in time to see the girl run out the door, and again she was tempted to groan. She hadn't even known Marlene was there. But that was beside the point. She just wanted some quiet time while she was awake. Maybe if she shut her eyes and tried to sleep, then she could have some peace.

"Tifa," Cloud said from the doorway, two children standing behind him. Drat, too late.

"Hey," she greeted softly, watching Cloud walk in with a glass of water in his hand. He set it on the table beside her bed, and she didn't have time to thank him before he started speaking again. But he wasn't talking to her; he was talking to the two children who followed him in.

"Why don't you guys go have some fun?" he suggested. "Tifa doesn't need all three of us staring at her while she's awake." The warrior turned his head and winked subtly at Tifa, making her smile weakly in response.

Marlene and Denzel were hesitant, but eventually they left. And when they did, Cloud took a few steps back to the door and softly shut it to give them the first bit of privacy they had since the incident.

Instead of pulling up a chair and being distant like he would have a few months ago, he sat on the edge of the bed by Tifa's stomach and looked down at her. "How do you feel?"

"I'm alright," she insisted softly.

"You don't look alright," Cloud insisted right back, though his voice was gentle. Tifa swallowed when he saw through her lie, and her gaze went down to the bed. She really wasn't alright; she was hurting and questioning everything. She had so many questions to ask, but she found that she was lacking the courage to say them verbally. Why couldn't she just leave them behind and act like everything was fine?

"I just…have been thinking, about everything," she said softly. "About Kadaj and his gang, and about Rude."

"You're wondering if they're connected, aren't you?"

Tifa looked up at Cloud, surprised. But yes, that was what she was thinking about. "You're not the only one thinking about it," he informed her then. "It's something we've all been considering, but we haven't been allowed to interrogate Rude until today."

"We're allowed to interrogate him?" Tifa asked, practically bolting up in her bed at the news. She grunted at the pain in her ribs, but she managed to stay upright despite the intense aching.

"Yeah," Cloud confirmed. "Everyone went over earlier this morning, but I volunteered to stay here and make sure that you're alright. "

"But I don't want to be here," Tifa insisted, shaking her head. "I want to be there!"

"You're not in any shape to be up and moving," he pointed out. "They've got it under control, Tifa. Let them handle it."

"No. I don't care if they have it under control. This involves me, and I want to be there."

"You're not going."

"Yes, I am," Tifa said, swinging her legs off the side of the bed. She locked her jaw to hold back the pain of moving, but Cloud's hand gripping her arm made her stop moving anyway.

"You're not going," he repeated, his voice soft but firm.

"You can't tell me what to do, Cloud Strife," she said, feeling anger rising up inside of her. He had no right to hold her back from something that she really wanted to do. She was strong enough to face this physically and he knew it. It would be trying, granted, but she could do it.

"Actually, I can, Tifa Lockhart," he returned, keeping his grip on her arm. Tifa opened her mouth to protest, but Cloud continued before she could get anything out. "I don't care if I'm not your parent. As a friend, I'm going to keep you from doing anything that'll hurt you. You can't handle going to Rude right now."

Aren't we much more than friends? Tifa thought, though she didn't say it aloud. She wasn't even sure, considering how much happened lately. First they were enemies, then Cloud worked his way into her heart, and then she was sure that she loved him. And looking into those bright blue eyes, she knew that she still did. Just like she always had.

"Tell you what," Cloud started. "As long as we stay in the house, we'll do whatever you want, okay?"

"Fine," Tifa complied with a sigh. She couldn't win this fight anyway, so she could just hope that if she recovered within a few days, she could help unlock this mystery as well. It was her only choice now, except for her current choice on what she and Cloud would do for the day.

"Tifa?"

He wanted her decision on what they would do, but she didn't know what. Actually, she did know; she was just unsure of how to ask what she wanted. "…I just want to be with you," Tifa whispered, feeling tears appear in her eyes. She just wanted to feel safe and secure for once and depend on somebody else to hold her when she was broken.

Cloud released Tifa's arm and immediately embraced her from the side. Tifa felt terrible pain because of her ribs, but she turned towards Cloud and wrapped her arms around his neck. Unbelievably, she started crying as she buried her head in his neck. And she also broke down about why she was crying.

"I was so scared," she whispered into Cloud's neck. "I just…"

"I know," Cloud whispered back, holding Tifa closely.

"No, you don't," she argued weakly. "He was my best friend for so long, and then, he just…" Tifa swallowed, holding Cloud more closely. Rude changed. He was…insane. One of her former best friends tried to kill her. That wasn't alright.

"You know he's not the same person anymore," Cloud said softly. "He's not the person that you once knew…"

"I know. But Cloud…I had a hand in changing him, didn't I? Because I didn't love him back."

"You don't know that."

"…Actually, I do," she said quietly, shaking her head against Cloud's neck. "The first time, right after Kadaj was killed and you came to me and Rude, we were talking. He said he loved me, and I said I didn't feel the same. And then he snapped."

"But you can't force yourself to love him, Teef," he responded gently.

"I did love him….As a brother. Why wasn't that good enough for him? How could he do this…?"

Cloud was silent for a few moments, not that Tifa really expected an answer from him. This was so sudden, so startling. And there was nothing either of them could do to change the things that happened. They could only move on, whether they had these questions or not.

"…I'll find answers to those questions," Cloud promised her after a few minutes of silence. "We'll figure this out…someday."

"Mm," Tifa hummed, wrapping her arms around Cloud more tightly at the reassurance. But…"…That's not the only thing we have to figure out," she said softly, referring to something else. Their relationship.

"What do you want to do?" Cloud asked, knowing what Tifa was referring to.

"….I don't know. All I know is how I feel about you."

"I feel the same way," he said, smiling weakly. But deep down inside, he was wondering how Tifa felt. Did she feel the same way that he did? That was what he thought before, but a lot happened between now and the last time they really spoke.

"…I love you, Cloud Strife," Tifa whispered.

Cloud felt relief then, and that showed when his smile widened. He lifted a hand, running it over Tifa's long hair. "I love you too," he responded.

Tifa smiled softly at his soft-spoken words, her hand finding the back of his neck. She lifted her hand then and ran her hand over the back of his spiky head, her eyes closing in comfort. They both loved each other…After all this time. She loved him all her life, whether she admitted it or not. And he did as well, only he didn't realize it. But now he did, and that was good enough for her.

"I'm always going to protect you," Cloud vowed quietly. "I won't hurt you again by running away…"

"Mm," Tifa hummed, tears appearing behind her closed eyes. He sounded so sincere, which was something that she still had to get used to. But she loved seeing this side of Cloud already. A lot had changed while she was gone, hadn't it? She would have to talk to Yuffie about it when they were both fully recovered. Yuffie was close to that point, but Tifa had a ways to go. Unfortunately, she would just have to wait for her broken ribs to heal.

Cloud's hand continued running over Tifa's hair, making the serious, painful thoughts disappear. She was blessed. She was home, alive, and with somebody who loved her and she loved in return. And Marlene and Denzel…

Tifa opened her eyes, turning her head a little bit and looking towards the door. She saw two young children peaking in, but when they saw Tifa looking at them, they gasped and scurried away. A few soft laughs left her lips, free despite the pain in her ribs. The pain only made her hold Cloud more closely and close her eyes in both comfort and discomfort. The comfort was emotional; the discomfort was pain. But she let the good feelings trump the bad ones as she enjoyed being in the arms of the person she loved.

Maybe things weren't quite alright now, but someday they would be. Just as soon as she got her questions answered.