Oops

The ride back to the dock was short and, other than Fenrir's engine, silent. Even though it they had only been together for about an hour, being without Ellone and Squall seemed odd, and being without Zell was altogether wrong. Tifa rubbed her arms, then realized that she still had Zell's baby bag. She halfway considered chucking it into the forest never to be seen again, but rationalized to herself that if she were ever able to have a baby, then the bag would come in handy. She hugged it close with her free arm.

Once on the dock and parked, Cloud got off the bike and walked a pace away. Tifa raised an eyebrow and got off.

She walked up next to him, "…Is it about Zell?"

"…A bit."

Tifa put the baby bag down next to her feet and put an arm around Cloud, "I wish we could have kept him, too. I feel…like we could protect him…but he needs a chance at a normal life," she said, trying to convince herself more than Cloud, "This is best for him. Isn't it?"

"Most likely," Cloud looked at Tifa, "I think so, at least."

"Right…"

Cloud turned Tifa to him and hugged her. She laid her head on his shoulder. The pair stayed like that for a minute until Tifa grew embarrassed and pulled away.

She avoided Cloud's gaze, "Sorry…"

"You're fine," Cloud kissed her on the forehead.

Tifa froze. She looked up at him quizzically.

Cloud looked unabashedly at her, then realized what he had done and flushed deeply. He dropped his arms and backed away, "Sorry."

Tifa laughed to try and negate the impending awkwardness, "You're fine…" she bit her lip, then walked up and gave Cloud a hasty kiss on the cheek. She walked a few paces away and stared blankly out into the ocean. She began rocking on her heels. An hour passed in silence until the boat arrived.

When the aptly names Salvation finally moored, the reality of their situation truly hit Tifa. No matter how she had looked at it, there was no possible way that they could have kept Zell and kept him safe: as soon as she and Cloud arrived back in Midgar Edge, they would be thrown into a war that had been raging since well before Zelda had even died, and there was no telling what or when the next battle would be after this one. Zell's best chance of safety was to be adopted into a good family. The fleeting thought of adopting Zell herself in a few years was pushed out if Tifa's mind as she flashed her ticket and boarded the ferry. Even at that age, he would still be in as much danger as Marlene had been when Sephiroth was at large, and Tifa couldn't allow that, as much as it pained her. Once on the boat, Tifa excused herself to her and Cloud's cabin, claiming tiredness. Cloud nodded and told her where he'd be if she needed him.

After Tifa left, Cloud wandered around the boat before ending up on the top deck where he said he'd be. He walked up to the railing and leaned against it while the boat slowly pulled away from the dock. That's when Cloud realized he forgot his medication. He swore and searched his pockets before the ship got to moving too much, but to no avail. Cloud must have left his pills either on Fenrir or with Tifa. The ship got into deeper water and rocked. Cloud's jaw locked up and he paled.

Shit.

Cloud started making his way to Fenrir. His and Tifa's room was further away and Cloud would check there next. People who noticed Cloud hastily moved out of the way.

I really need to get a handle on this motion sickness curse. "Hi, I saved your world multiple times, just don't put me on a boat, in a car, on an airship, or in a small closet." Damn you, Barret.

Tifa sat on the edge of the bed and rocked back and forth in time with the ship, holding the baby bag to her.

"I'm pathetic," she murmured, "What idiot tries to find comfort in a diaper bag?" and still she rocked. Tifa rocked until she noticed that Cloud still hadn't come to the room. Was Cloud avoiding her after the uh...displays of affection? ...What time was it? Tifa checked the digital clock next to the bed and had to double check. 2:30. The ship had left an hour ago. Well, that's embarrassing…

"Get a grip," she scolded herself, "Zell wasn't yours to begin with."

Tifa put the bag down and went to the door to her and Cloud's room to check if Cloud was in the hallway by chance. When he wasn't, she left the room and started towards the top deck. Did he fall asleep, maybe? God, what a sunburn he would be getting by now.

When Tifa arrived at the top deck and didn't see Cloud, her first thought was that a gang related to Sephiroth or Deepground or even someone new had somehow tracked down, detained, and removed him. But then Tifa noticed that there was not a single scratch in the boat, and she didn't remember hearing anything amiss from her room, preoccupied as she was.

Tifa walked up to another passenger on the boat and asked if she had seen a pale and possibly sunburned guy with spikey blond hair pass by. The woman hadn't seen him, but said her husband had seen a man matching the description with a bout of seasickness on his way to the cargo hold. Tifa thanked the woman and hurried away to the cargo hold, but first she stopped by the room and grabbed Cloud's pills from Zell's bag. What other seasick needlehead would be on this boat? Tifa hurried from the room, and while on her way to the cargo hold, her cell phone rang. She immediately answered.

"Hello?" she asked, striding down the hallway.

"Tifa. It's Reeve. Are you and Cloud on your way back, yet? He isn't answering his phone. We really need you here, things are getting bad."

"How bad is 'bad'?"

"Just another survival-of-the-planet thing."

"Great. What's going on?"

"Apparently Deepground's objective was to revive 'Omega', the counterpart to Vincent's 'Chaos'. Once awoken, Omega's objective is to take the souls of everyone alive and dead and leave this planet in search of a new one."

"Charming. Yes, we're on our way, but I'll have to call you back. We're on the boat on our way back from the island of the Ancients and Cloud forgot to take his medicine. I'm looking for him right now."

"Oh, dear. You aren't with him?"

"It's a long story. Bye, Reeve, we'll be back as soon as we can."

"Stay safe, Tifa. I'm still holding you to your word on that big meal you promised everyone."

Tifa huffed a laugh, "Goodbye, Reeve."

"Bye, Tifa."

Tifa hung up and closed her phone, then quickened her pace. Once she arrived at the cargo hold, she scanned the area for Fenrir or Cloud, but found neither bike nor rider easily.

"Cloud? Are you in here?" Tifa called.

A second later, a pale arm rose above a row of vehicles. Tifa hurried over to the spot.

Sitting tiredly against Fenrir was a sickeningly pale Cloud. The poor guy was covered in sweat and looked as if he might throw up at any moment. Tifa sat next to him and had him lean against her.

"I forgot to bring water. Can you take your pills without it?" she asked.

Cloud shrugged lightly and held out a hand, which Tifa placed two motion sickness pills into. He popped the medicine into his mouth and ended up choking and throwing up a little bit. Tifa scooched away from the sick. She'd get that little bit off her skirt later.

Cloud groaned, "Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it. Can you stand?"

"Not by myself. I refuse to crawl. I'm so sorry," Cloud admitted.

"It's alright, c'mere," Tifa got Cloud's arm over her shoulder and slowly stood.

When the pair finally got back to their room, Tifa helped Cloud to the bathroom. She set him down in front of the toilet and rubbed his back.

"Just let me know when you think you can keep your medicine down, kay?"

Cloud nodded and hovered, green, over the toilet. Tifa continued rubbing his back and shoulders.

"I'm sorry…" Cloud muttered.

"This is nothing compared to Mako poisoning or a baby."

"Ugh, I hate needing medicine. I'm starving," Cloud crawled into bed and stared at Tifa with big blue eyes.

"You know you can't eat until you haven't thrown up in an hour. I'll get you some water."

Cloud groaned and turned over. He had finally been able to keep his medicine down, but that was due more to the fact that his stomach had been (and still was) totally empty rather than his stomach calming down. Even now, Cloud didn't feel well enough to leave the room to get his own food.

Tifa walked back from the bathroom sink and sat on the bed next to him, "You thirsty?"

"Yeah," Cloud sat up and accepted the glass from Tifa, then started taking small drinks. He put his arm around Tifa's shoulders, "Thanks, and I'm sorry. The last thing you should be doing is looking after a seasick-"

"Oh, shut up and drink your water. What else is there for me to do?" Tifa scoffed, a half smirk on her face, "You apologize too much, Cloud."

Cloud silently sipped his water. What are you supposed to say when someone tells you you apologize too much? Apologize, then cut yourself off?

"But it's…" Tifa started, "You're welcome."

"It's what?" Cloud prodded. He lowered his arm to his side.

"Nothing."

"You're a horrible liar."

"That doesn't mean I have to finish my sentence."

"Hm."

"Do you want me to get food?"

Cloud frowned. She was literally running from the conversation! But he was so hungry…will food still be available? What time is it?

"…Yes, please."

"Alright, I'll be right back," Tifa smiled at Cloud and left the room.