Confusion, Pancakes, and Panic

When Cloud woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed other than a headache and sensitivity to light was that he was in Tifa's bed. Confused, he did a mental recap of the previous night.

Presents. Blankets. Brush teeth…wake up.

He realized he was still wearing his shoes. Oops. Hopefully he didn't get dirt on Tifa's sheets. He stuck his feet out from under the blankets and kicked his shoes onto the floor. He'll wake up in a little while.

Holy crap, he was in Tifa's bed.

Cloud jumped out of the bed (startling and waking his sleeping companion) and started walking hurriedly downstairs.

"Cloud?! What happened?!" Tifa exclaimed.

Cloud said nothing and started down the stairs. He heard Tifa get out of bed and follow.

Nonono.

She grabbed him by the shoulder. Cloud looked sidelong at her.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" she asked, worry in her eye. Had he had a nightmare, she wondered?

Far from that actually. He had just had a very sudden and shocking dream.

"Um…bathroom," he dodged.

"The bathroom's that way," she said, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"…Nothing."

Tifa gave him The Look and crossed her arms.

"I just…"

"Just…?" Tifa prompted.

He mumbled something about being embarrassing. Oh, was that all?

Tifa laughed lightly, "Don't worry about it, Cloud. You wouldn't have made it across the room anyway."

"But…"

"No 'but's. Come on, since we're awake, do you want some breakfast?"

"…Sure," he tucked his chin behind his sweater (which he should probably change out of) and followed Tifa downstairs.

Cloud watched her for a minute, bustling around the kitchen, before asking, "What can I do to help?"

"You're fine, just stay where you are," she replied.

"I want to help," Cloud got up and stood next to Tifa's workplace, then moved when a beam of evil sunlight hit him. He rubbed his temples, "If I do something, I'll feel better," that wasn't exactly true, but if he was closer to Tifa, then he would feel better, so…same difference, right?

"…Okay, fine," Tifa relented, "Could you make the pancake batter? I'll tell you what all goes in it, so just put it in the bowl in the order I tell you."

"Okay," wow, Tifa had never trusted him to do more than mix the batter once she was done putting it together.

"Three cups flour," she said, cracking several eggs into a bowl, "The measuring cups and spoons are in the drawer left of the silverware. The mixing bowl is in the cabinet left of my knee."

Cloud got the appropriate equipment and put the flour in the bowl.

"Is this much necessary?" he asked, wondering what all went into pancakes.

"We're making a double dose since everyone's over."

"Ah," Cloud smiled. We?

"Seven teaspoons of baking powder."

"Which is the teaspoon and which is baking powder?"

"The little spoon labeled 'Teaspoon' and the small red box in the pantry labeled 'Baking Powder'. Baking Soda is next to the powder. Don't use that one."

Oh, Cloud supposed that made sense.

Note to self: Check Labels.

"Alright."

"Two teaspoons salt," she said, beating the heck out of scrambled eggs after adding salt and pepper. Tifa glanced over at Cloud to check if he was doing everything right.

Cloud got the table salt and took the lid off.

"There's a box of salt in the pantry."

Oh.

Cloud found the box and put the salt in, "Okay?"

"Two tablespoons sugar. The tablespoon is the big one. Oh, and get six tablespoons of butter and set it in a bowl next to the stove to melt after you get the sugar," Tifa poured the eggs into the frying pan on the stove. Next to it was a skillet for the pancakes. She glanced at his progress once again.

"Okay?" he waited for his next task.

"Two and a half cups of milk."

"…Okay?"

"Two eggs, and the butter once it's melted," Tifa stirred the scrambled eggs to make sure they didn't burn.

"Okay. Do I mix after all of that?"

"Yup, very nice, Cloud," Tifa said with a smile, "You're on your way to becoming a true chef."

Cloud huffed, "Right. Watch out. Next to me, your cooking to be nothing," he raised his hands in a shrug and shook his head.

Tifa laughed, "I wouldn't say that."

Once most everyone more or less awake (there was lots of grumbling about too much light and noise), Tifa set the eggs and pancakes on two big plates to let everyone serve themselves.

Marlene and Denzel hopped up to the counter, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and scooped eggs and pancakes onto their plates.

"Thanks, Tifa!" Marlene chirped.

"Fank ou!" Denzel followed, cheeks full of pancake and syrup. He paused and swallowed, "Tifa? Did you burn the pancakes a little bit?"

"Cloud made them. I think he did pretty well for a first-timer."

"Oh, ok," Denzel resumed eating, content with Tifa's reason for crispy pancakes.

Despite slight imperfections to the pancakes, Cloud felt pretty proud to have made them mostly unassisted. He helped himself to some of his flapjacks.

Once everyone was done eating (Cid ate least and last, having woken up an hour after everyone else), they started heading back to their homes. Barret stayed longer than the rest so he could catch up with Marlene and wander around Edge. Denzel stayed behind while Marlene and her father left to walk around the city. Someone had to make sure his and Marlene's plan succeeded, after all.

Tifa went upstairs and Cloud removed himself from the rest to change and start organizing his next trip out. Perfect. Denzel went upstairs to make sure Tifa found her present.

Cloud sat down at his desk after putting on new clothes and pulled his ever-present maps in front of him. Whoever wanted him to go all the way to freaking North Corel had better pay him handsomely. He organized his other stops easily to make the entire thing a round trip. He should be back in time to care to his regulars without a hitch in his schedule if all went well.

After hammering out the details, Cloud stood to leave. He reached to his left to grab the jacket Tifa got for him (never know when it could get cold, expecially as far North as North Corel) and was surprised to find a box and note. Another present?

He opened the envelope and read the note:

Be careful on your trip, Cloud, and make sure to stay warm. You mean a lot to me and I hate that I can't take more care of you than I do. Happy Birthday, I love you.

~Tifa

Cloud stood frozen to his spot after reading, then re-reading the note, the final words rang through his head.

I love you.

What? Me? Cloud panicked a bit.

I have to go. I need to think. She can't be serious. But she's not the kind of girl who would say that lightly. I have to go. Wouldn't she say it to my face if she meant it? But maybe she's embarrassed? Hell, I would be. Am.

Cloud grabbed, then let go of, then re-grabbed his jacket and walked out of the door before returning for the gift Tifa had given him. He'll open it later. He needed to get out.

He hurriedly walked outside and mounted Fenrir, starting the engine as soon as he had placed his jacket and present under his seat and put his goggles on. As he was driving away, he swore he heard Tifa call his name, but he was definitely going fast enough for the wind to block his hearing. Lalalalalala. Sorry, wha was that? Couldn't hear you.

Tifa stared after Cloud as he rounded a corner. She sighed. He wouldn't do that if what he said was true, would he? Maybe he was scared of her reaction. She would be terrified of someone's reply to this. She clenched the note in her fingers, careful not to wrinkle it, and thought about the only part of it she had read.

I love you, Tifa.