Disclaimer: We think Square Enix should share the boys. With us. We wouldn't mind. But they don't. And the song is Depeche Mode – A pain that I'm used to.
Beta: Azrax (Thank you, once again.)
A/N (Anae): Hello, Tifa. Nice meeting you again, and nice for you not to ask any opinions of how to act from your writer.
Thanks for sticking us this far, and hope you enjoy some Tifa and Leon interaction, because Leon has questions only Tifa might have the answers to!
A/N (QttQ): This time, we bring in Tifa. Leon still has some burning questions he needs to ask, and Tifa is the lucky girl who gets to answer. But, then again, not all questions should be asked.
We're actually going somewhere with all of this, trust me! A lot is going on and there are still many things that need to be clarified, but I hope you have the patience to stick with us and follow the story. Again, there will be more to come! C :

Chapter XV: Note full of hope

No mistaking the faking, I care
With a prayer in the air I will leave it there
On a note full of hope not despair

It took a couple of days for Leon to gather the courage to approach the dark haired melee fighter. After having a talk with Cid, the gunblader had weighted his options more than once.

Aerith was a calming presence with the kindest heart and Leon, like everyone, valued her. But the brunette didn't spend his time around the woman, because it felt like she could see right through him. It was something Leon wasn't used to - in fact, he'd rather never get used to it - and, because of a ton of things, he rather was around someone else.

Tifa, on the other hand, was nothing like Aerith. Whereas Leon couldn't help but see Aerith as a flower that needed protection, he saw Tifa as a strong independent woman who knew how to take care of her home, friends and herself. Should there be a fight, Leon would count on Tifa to have his back - if it'd be necessary.

The reason to choose to question Tifa instead of Aerith wasn't only because Leon felt unease around the flower girl - he had come to notice that Tifa probably knew Cloud the best. According to Leon's understanding, she had been around him for a long time, ever since childhood.

Besides, it was Tifa who made the rules of the household. Not Aerith, nor someone else.

Still, when Leon made his way to the back of the house where Tifa made her daily exercises - according to Yuffie at least - his movements slowed little by little. Maybe he shouldn't interrupt her practice?

But even if his mind wondered and his legs slowed down, he didn't stop - not before he reached the area surrounded by different kind of buildings and variable surroundings, he stopped.

Tifa probably had heard the gunblader coming closer, but she kept on moving - doing different kicks on the air, using buildings as springboards - practically hitting, kicking, using whatever was on the area.

And she was skilled.

Leon had heard from others that she was a fighter to heart, but had never witnessed it. The warrior couldn't but admire the way and speed she moved, improvising every attack - let alone how she was aware of her surrounding all the time, using them as her targets.

Then, after jumping off the wall, doing somersault backwards on the air, landing on a kneeled position, stopping there, slightly panting, Leon knew that he had wasted his time to run away.

She stood up, her black hair floating in the wind and turned around. She eyed Leon, but before he could say a word, she talked. "It is too crumby?" Her tone was by no means hostile, she simply asked a question in a friendly manner. Leon, however, was caught by surprise, trying to figure what she meant. As Tifa noticed this, she rolled her eyes. "The room."

"We'll manage", Leon answered, mentally slapping himself. Of course Tifa had meant the room, what else? The bed? Yes, both were quite crumby, but they managed. Situation wasn't what it had been before that one faithful argument and everything that had followed, but slowly and surely they had started to get an idea how to be around each other.

Even if they weren't yet sure what they were to each other, they were at least walking towards something.

"Good", Tifa answered with a nod. She started to take off the leather gloves she wore - only when fighting. Despite the movement of her hands, woman's eyes were focused on the gunblader. "What is it?" she asked, somewhat concerned.

Leon shook his head a bit. Tifa was one of those women that cut straight to business - not that you needed much sense to figure he had something on his mind: coming to see Tifa outside the house - home, Leon reminded himself, home - even to go as far as interrupt her practice. The acts spoke louder than words - Leon had something private to ask Tifa.

"I have a couple of questions, if you don't mind."

Tifa's only answer was a look. Leon inhaled deeply, still unsure if this was something he should put his nose in. But then again, he wanted to know Cloud. The bad and the good sides - even though there seemed to be a lot more bad than good in his past. So Leon collected himself, meeting Tifa's questioning eyes.

"Who was Zack?"

Tifa was about take off another glove, but as the question was spoken, she turned her gaze aside and then her movements stopped. A moment of silence passed, only wind blowing around them, taking Tifa's long black hair as it's playmate. However, she didn't pay attention to it as her dark eyes focused to brunette gunblader. "Why? Why do you want to know?" she asked, eyes reflecting sorrow. "What difference does it make? He's dead."

Leon was a little taken aback by Tifa's attitude. If he had expected something, this wasn't it. But at least Tifa appeared to know Zack and what had happened. "Because I want to know Cloud", Leon simply answered, meeting the brown eyes with powerful gaze.

She sighed, resting her head in her hand, the one still holding the black leather glove. "Zack was Cloud's best friend", she started, apparently deciding that Leon's reasoning was good enough. "Hojo, the mad scientist, ran tests on them. I don't really know what, but that was when Cloud got mako poisoning."

The gunblader watched as Tifa paused, pulling other glove off. Even if he wasn't good at reading people, he found it fascinating to watch Tifa's reactions as she spoke. All that anger and hate bubbling beneath the concern and care. "Mako poisoning?" he questioned, urging Tifa to continue.

"Yeah", she shortly answered, eyes moving from hands to horizon, looking how sunset marked the world as it own, covering it with dark yellow and orange rays. "When you're suffering from mako poisoning, you're practically comatose and at the same time, you're not. From what I've understood, Cloud remembers something about that time, but not a lot. And that little is mainly foggy. Anyway, it's the reason his memory isn't all that clear."

Tifa didn't as much as glance Leon. Her beautiful dark eyes were on the horizon, not really seeing it. She was watching back in time - to what, Leon didn't know. "And Zack… Zack managed to escape, taking Cloud with him. He ended up dragging Cloud around half of the world." She paused. "Until the soldiers found them. Should've Zack left Cloud behind, he'd still be alive. But he didn't." Those dark brown eyes met blue-grey. "Zack died for Cloud."

She paused again. "You know the sword Cloud carries around?" Leon nodded, but he wasn't sure if Tifa even noted it. "It used to belong to Zack."

That Buster sword? It had belonged to this Zack, who had died for Cloud? It couldn't be easy, to live with such a reminder in your hands every day. But then again, knowing Cloud, he probably didn't think he deserved anything else. And maybe it was a way to honor Zack's memory, too.

"Is there something else you wanted to ask?" Tifa questioned, waking Leon up.

Leon pondered a while whether he should ask the question that had lingered in his mind ever since Cloud had thrown him on the wall. Maybe he shouldn't, but his curiosity got the better of him. Who knew, this was probably his one and only chance to ask these things from someone who knew. So, as Tifa turned, tucking her gloves to her pant pockets, Leon asked.

"Who is Sephiroth?"

The brunette could see how Tifa tensed. "Sephiroth was a nightmare." Then, to Leon's surprise, she whirled around. "Some things are better off as mere memories." She took a few steps closer, invading the older warrior's personal space with such ease, her blazing gaze making Leon stay put there and prepare himself. "And Sephiroth is one thing that should stay as one." She paused, mixture of grief, sorrow and hate flaring in those dark eyes. "So don't ever ask about him again. Not from us, but especially not from Cloud. Do you understand?"

"…Alright."

One second, she was there, on his personal space, claiming the part as her own, and on the next, she took two steps backwards, leaving Leon by himself. She brushed by the man, not saying a word, making her way towards their house - home.

"Leon."

He turned around, to see what she had to say.

A small, somewhat apologising smile. "Don't be late from the dinner. I'm sure Aerith and Yuffie have given their all."

Leon only nodded in return, and then he was left alone. His stormy gaze wandered to see the last rays of sun before the darkness of the night would once again take over. He stayed in place, but his mind - it wandered. It was not only in the answers he'd been given but also in the question Tifa had told him to back off.

Sephiroth.

That name alone was enough to make Leon shiver in the chilling evening. From what he had heard and found out, he was certain that he never wanted to meet this Sephiroth. And he never wanted Cloud to battle him again.

With these thoughts - more hopes than anything - he turned his back on the dying sun and walked away, his footsteps heavy.

And heavy those footsteps remained as Leon walked towards his new home, mind wandering from thing to another. Cloud, Zack, Sephiroth - he had gotten most of the missing pieces, even if there were still holes in the puzzle.

But Leon knew better than to dig more. He had learned that nothing good would come with too much prying - especially with Cloud.

So as the brunette merely took one step after another, not really paying attention to his surroundings, he all but ran into Cloud.

Leon took a few steps backwards, sure not to invade Cloud's personal space - not that he wasn't touchy of his own space after the episode with Tifa - and faced the blonde, silently asking if everything was okay.

They stayed silent for a while, neither really upset about other's presence but not letting their guards totally down either.

In the end, it was Cloud who chose to speak first. "I've been looking for you."

That caught Leon by surprise. Cloud had been looking for him? "Why?"

"I was going to practice", was the simple answer he got. Before Leon got to ask what he had to do with it, the warrior continued. "Thought you might want to join."

With that, Cloud brushed by the older man, walking past him. Leon's lips curved upwards. Sparring. It was an offering to make things the way they had been - or something close to that, at least - to try to correct the wrongs they had done in the past. Maybe this time they could find a better, less rocky path.

Cloud didn't need to turn to see Leon follow him. He knew better than that.

And that kept the smile on Leon's face as he followed the blonde. But he spared a glance to home - the others were more or less waiting them.

But then again, Tifa wouldn't kick their asses for being late for the meal.

…Or maybe she would.