FAR FROM THE TREE: FAMILY TIES
CHAPTER 01 – DATE INTERRUPTED
It had been such a pleasant surprise.
Tifa looked around at the cozy little restaurant Cloud had picked for their romantic evening. It wasn't too extravagant, but then again, it wasn't a dive. In Tifa's opinion, it was perfect... because he was there.
Lately, it had been strictly Tifa's initiative for a lot of things in their relationship, not that Cloud hadn't been amazing. Tifa was just being a little more assertive than usual. She had to be! She wasn't going to let him slip away...
Ever since that night when he almost died (Almost? He DID die!), she had felt the need to make him feel as loved as she could. Watching him fade away like that had felt like someone ripped her heart from her chest; so many regrets overwhelmed her at that point... things she had never told him...
A hand reached over and placed it on top of hers. "Hey."
Had she been dwelling on gut-wrenching memories when she had a very "alive", very attentive Cloud sitting right in front of her? This was supposed to be their night together. Lately, he'd been so busy with his business that deliveries had been piling up. Cloud ended up having to hire a second hand to help... and, of course, he hired the only person he could trust! Zack had accepted the offer gladly, and when the ravenette had heard that Cloud wanted to take Tifa out for a real date, Zack practically shooed his buddy out the door.
Their lack of time hadn't been all Cloud's fault, either. The business at the bar had picked up substantially, and Petra couldn't work all day every day. Tifa had needed to fill the shifts Petra couldn't cover. When Petra heard that Cloud had a date planned, she offered to work for Tifa.
So here they were, dining at a lovely restaurant. Her fiance... (oh, she loved calling him that)... was dressed up- nothing too fancy but nicer than normal- staring at her with such a concerned expression.
She met his eyes and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I was just... lost in thought."
"If this is moving too fast for you, we can always slow down with the wedding. You don't need to stress yourself over this," he suggested.
She glared at him hard, not in a mean way but more playfully.
"Not a chance, Cloud," she smirked, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, "You trying to get out of it?"
He didn't even blink as he tilted his head to the side, giving her that smirk that she adored. "Now why would I do that? If I remember right, I was the one who asked you to marry me. I don't give my heart to just anyone, you know."
She just adored when he said stuff like that...
When did I get so mushy?
She shook her head, chuckling. "Well, the wedding is on, Mr. Strife. I have it all under control. We just need to pick a date."
"I'm fine with whatever day you pick," he told her, gazing at the sparkling ring she wore.
He leaned in closer to her, the candlelight's reflection dancing in his eyes. "The sooner I get to call you Mrs. Strife, the better."
She closed the distance between them, cursing (and yet, enjoying) that Strife charm. "Keep talkin' like that, sir, and you won't be getting much sleep tonight..."
She gazed at those amazing blue eyes of his, trying desperately not to be the damsel that sighs and says, 'My hero!'. The night seemed to be heading in a very good direction, and Tifa thoroughly enjoyed the happiness overload.
His smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. "Oh, you wanted to sleep tonight? I did have something else in mind, but if you're tired we can always wait."
This had been a fun game they created; about two months ago when he still had his own room to sleep in, they spent an evening flirting and making one another blush. They began keeping count because it happened over and over, and soon the score was tied. Of course, by the end of that night, they were doing a lot more than talking…
The next day, they continued doing everything they could to make one another blush, an unofficial game, of sorts. At first, Tifa usually won the game, but Cloud was getting much better… not that she minded at all.
Damn... he's winning! she thought as she felt the heat in her cheeks. Well, it was dark... maybe he couldn't tell... who the hell was she kidding? She was probably illuminating the entire dining room!
She was about to retort, but her phone rang. Taking it out, she noticed it was the number for 7th Heaven, and she knew she couldn't ignore it. The bartender wouldn't call for just any mundane reason.
"It's Petra," she informed him, knowing he would understand.
She flipped the phone open, mumbling, "There better be a riot... Hello?"
"Tifa, I know you're on your date, and I'm so sorry to bug you," Petra began, "but there's some... man, here, causing some trouble... demanding to see you."
"Demanding to see me?" she repeated.
"Yeah... he's really loud... and he's making some of the other customers uncomfortable," Petra explained. "I told him you aren't here and won't be back until later, but he said he's gonna wait until you get here."
"All right, Petra," Tifa sighed. There went her perfect evening. She could still recover it. They could go take care of this guy, and then Tifa would have to turn on her own charm. "We'll be back soon to handle it."
"Thanks, Tifa. I'm really REALLY sorry!"
"It's okay, Petra," Tifa reassured her and hung up. Looking at Cloud, who still looked so amazing in the candlelight, she sighed wistfully.
"Some guy is starting trouble at the bar and demanding to see me," she said.
His features became annoyed. "If it's Billings again..."
Tifa inwardly winced at the name. One night, when she had been working, Billings had shown up to 7th Heaven, completely drunk. Tifa had told him to leave, but he refused, shouting about how she lied and calling her obscene names. Henry, the incredible man that he was, had "assisted" Billings out the door. A few moments later, Cloud returned home from one of his deliveries.
Henry explained to them both that Billings' wife had left him, moving to Junon with their son after discovering not only what Billings had done to Tifa but to other women, as well. Not long after that, Billings lost his business, his home, and his self-respect... not that he ever really had any. These days, the man was a homeless drunk, living on the streets of Edge. Tifa didn't wish any misfortune on him, but he had dug his own grave.
Cloud looked down at their half-eaten meal and motioned his hand towards a passing waiter. "Can we have the check please?"
"No, I don't think it is," Tifa reassured him, "Petra knows who he is, and she would have said something."
The blond nodded as she began gathering her things.
"And don't you think for a minute that you won," she narrowed her eyes at him, smiling, "To be continued!"
He blinked at her, aghast. "Hey, you were blushing a little. I call that a win."
He let out a small pout.
The waiter set the check down and Cloud paid, leaving a good tip as well. That was yet another thing about her fiancé that Tifa loved: his generosity. He smirked at her, grabbing his jacket.
"Let's mosey."
*FT*
When they pulled up to the bar, Cloud knew he'd probably be needed to enforce the peace inside. He could hear the ruckus from where they were. Opening the door and preparing himself for the headache he'd no doubt suffer afterward, he headed inside and was surprised to see the man Tifa had mentioned.
The man's outfit was torn and ragged. His eyes were wild and angry, and he was getting right in Petra's face. Henry was nowhere in sight, which was a shame; that was one bar-goer Cloud relied on to help out when he wasn't around.
"I told you, I need to see her! When will she be back? If you're messing with me, you'll regret it!"
He shook a fist towards her, and Cloud's eyes flashed with anger.
"Hey!" he grabbed the man's arm and pulled him away from Petra, glaring at him.
The man was about to snarl at him in return when his eyes widened in recognition. "The Strife bastard?"
Cloud's eyes widened but with surprise. It had been years since anyone had called him that, but... he couldn't remember who it was.
"Papa?"
When Tifa mentioned him, Cloud's memory threw the moment right back in his face... Cloud, then eleven years old, being shoved in the snow, the man glaring down at him.
"I told you to stay away from my daughter! You almost got her killed that day! No Strife bastard is going to be seen with my Tifa. You and your mother should mind your own business!"
Oh, yes. Cloud remembered him now, but... then he realized...
"Mr. Lockhart? But... you're supposed to be dead!"
The man glared at him. "Are you trying to pay someone to..."
His rant trailed off then as he saw her. "Oh, Tifa!"
He shoved Cloud to the side and threw his arms around her, breaking down and blubbering like they weren't surrounded by a busy bar and a confused and mildly offended blond.
As he hugged a very wide-eyed Tifa, at first, she simply stood there. After a few seconds, her arms slowly drifted upwards to return his embrace.
"Papa! I thought... I thought you were..." she stammered, clearly trying to grasp the situation. She looked over at Cloud, her expression pure shock. Pulling back to look him over, the recognition washed over her features.
"Why don't we go upstairs," she suggested, attempting to direct him and grasping Cloud's hand on the way.
The man just nodded through his tears as he let his daughter lead the way. Cloud went to follow, but not before turning to Petra. "You okay?"
Petra nodded.
"Thanks," she sighed, "I'm so sorry for interrupting your date."
Cloud smirked at her and shook his head. "Considering who this is, it's best that we did step in. Thanks again for recommending the restaurant. It was perfect."
With that settled, he turned to follow after Tifa. He could hear Mr. Lockhart sobbing from here. The blond had mixed feelings about the man. On one hand, he couldn't stand the stupid jerk, but on the other hand, he couldn't blame him for his actions, in regard to keeping Tifa safe and worrying for her. She had been the only family he had after they lost Tifa's mom... which led to the bridge incident... which hadn't been Cloud's fault... but the man fell for the other kids' lies... and he was back to loathing the man. This night went from great to chocobo crap in the blink of an eye.
He decided to stay out in the hall to give them a moment by themselves, but he would remain nearby in case Tifa needed him for something.
He heard Brian Lockhart's voice from inside the room. "Sweetheart, what happened to our town? Our home? Those people aren't the same! They didn't know me… ME! The mayor! They didn't know you either, and I set out to find you. I traveled all over this Gaia-forsaken planet trying to find you! Someone suggested Edge, but I have no idea where that is! No matter, they were wrong. I found you in Midgar! Why are you with that brat? Was he the only one from home you could find? No one else heard of any of our neighbors either."
This sounded too familiar... a little like Cloud's mother. But how could it be? Angel didn't have that power to revive people anymore. So how was Tifa's father standing here in front of her?
"Papa, this is... going to be difficult to explain," Tifa began, "and I really don't know how to explain all of it. But we will go with one thing at a time."
Cloud heard Tifa take a deep breath. "Nibelheim was destroyed, set on fire... and then rebuilt later to cover it up. Many of the people there, now, are people who were hired by Shinra a long time ago that just stayed there after the company died."
The silence almost conveyed the stunned look Mr. Lockhart was most likely giving Tifa. "But... how could that be? Shinra said they were only sending Sephiroth and a small squad of SOLDIERs to check on the reactor and the nearby monster population. I was looking forward to shaking his hand. You're telling me they attacked us instead?"
There was a pause. "That man... his laughter as he cut me down... I demanded he explain himself, and I wanted to keep him away from you..."
A shuddered sigh drifted out of the room. "Thank the gods he never got near you. I couldn't live with myself if I had lost you too."
"Well... Papa, you must have noticed by now... What date... and year it is?" Tifa asked.
The sound of a rustling newspaper and then the unmistakable noise of someone crumpling paper met Cloud's ears.
"How?! How has it been so long? T-ten years?! But that means... you're now an... and that boy... he's a man now... if you can call him that."
Cloud could feel the anger heating up his skin, but he knew he needed to leave this to Tifa. He didn't want to interfere. "Sweetheart, if you feel trapped, just tell me, and I'll get you out of here. It's revolting that he has you working at a bar; a woman of your stature should be holding a high-class job, earning so much more than a simple barkeeper. And if he's laid a hand on you... Gaia help me, I'll make sure he's taken care of, nothing good will come from lingering around someone as toxic as him and his family."
Oh, but this man was working his last nerve. He knew it wasn't right to be eavesdropping like this, but all of Lockhart's inflammatory remarks nearly forced him to stay where he was and listen in some more.
"I wonder if his tramp mother escaped or not; either way you're better off away from this place."
Ohhhh, that's IT!
Cloud opened the door wide as he entered, a glare plain on his face, not unlike the one he'd worn before facing Sephiroth to save the world. Mr. Lockhart jumped and put his arm protectively in front of Tifa. "How dare you! You still don't have any manners, boy!"
"You should stop talking; you look smarter that way," Cloud told him, his eyes glowing slightly in the dim lighting. "If you have something to say about me or my mother then you should have the courage to say it to my face."
Tifa stepped in front of Cloud, facing her father.
"I'm going to say this once... and once only, Papa." she began, "Do NOT speak like that about Cloud OR his mother. He has done more for me... for this city... for this planet... than you could possibly imagine. I will NOT tolerate it, Papa... not from anyone."
She may not have had mako in her system, but the glow from the anger in her eyes could light up the room.
"It's been 10 years... our town is gone... and the only thing you want to do is take cheap shots at Cloud and his mother? I'm ashamed, Papa. You won't find many sympathetic ears in this city if all you want to do is slander Cloud.
"I'm not trapped. I fought to get here! This is where I have wanted to be for a long time. This bar is mine... and Cloud's. We own it. And the people of this city respect us, which is more than I can say for the people of Nibelheim," she added with venom.
"If you want to be part of my life, Papa, you will have to accept Cloud... and not begrudgingly, either. I won't have you making snide remarks around the kids. They won't have it, either."
She leaned forward. "Am I clear?"
The man looked down, ashamed... and there was another emotion Cloud couldn't make out. Slowly, he stood and sniffed. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come."
He shuffled past them and headed into the hallway when Cloud emerged from the door and stopped him.
"Mr. Lockhart, wait."
The man stopped and turned then, but only partially. "Haven't you taken enough from me? You got what you wanted; leave me alone."
Cloud rolled his eyes and tried to calm himself... It was hard, but he tried to be civil and nice. "You look like you've been through hell and back to find her... and from what I remember of that night... you faced the heart of it... I don't know what horrendous thing I did in the past to warrant such hate from you, but I don't care about the past anymore. I've let it haunt me long enough."
Mr. Lockhart's eyes shifted from hurt to suspicious, but he said nothing as Cloud continued.
"Look, I don't want there to be a rift anymore. Tifa needs her father... she was so heartbroken when she found you... she harbored such hatred for Shinra, but then we all did after that night. For Tifa's sake, I want to make this work... can we bury the hatchet, Mr. Lockhart?"
"Why are you asking me this... what connection would we ever have," he asked, turning a little more.
Cloud looked behind him in Tifa's direction and smiled. "We're getting married."
Before that moment, Tifa didn't think she could love Cloud any more than she did... but she was wrong. Her face softened, smiling at him before returning her attention to her father.
"I never understood why you hated Cloud so much, Papa," she spoke in a much gentler tone, "but he's an amazing man. Please... just try getting to know him... now. Let go of whatever resentment you had. Start fresh... please?"
Brian Lockhart stared at Cloud, his expression one of conflicted emotions. Glancing at Tifa, he shifted his eyes back to the blond.
"I... can try."
Cloud just shrugged his shoulders. "That's all we can ask."
Mr. Lockhart approached his daughter, "Sweetheart... I'm sorry."
She placed her arms about him, drawing him in for an embrace.
"Thank you, Papa," she whispered.
As Tifa and her father continued to talk, and she tried to get him caught up to date, Cloud retreated to the garage, his own personal space. He sat down at his workbench, picked up one of his smaller pet projects, and began tinkering with it, while his mind went over and tried to fully absorb what happened.
Her father was alive, which... he was genuinely happy about. Tifa needed her father, and when he died, it had scarred her. In fact, Cloud wasn't sure which scar was worse; the emotional one from that night or the physical one Sephiroth had left.
What he wasn't thrilled with was the fact that the man still hated him, still blamed him, and saw him and his mother as lower class than himself. Cloud didn't give a damn about his own worth, but... his mother had worked so hard to raise him, to keep food on the table and the fireplace warm, even if that meant Cloud had to chop wood before the sun rose and hunt in wolf-infested forests. They only had each other when times were tough, and he had seen the toll it would often take on his mother. The times she got sick, the house suffered for it, and he did his best to help in any way he could.
But Mr. Lockhart never saw her as an honest, hardworking woman, raising a child single-handedly. All he saw was what he painted her as: a woman without a husband raising a bastard son.
The thought sent an impulse wave of anger that channeled through his hand and broke the wrench he was using.
"Shit."
Cloud sighed and reached into his tool chest to find another that was a similar size.
About an hour later, the door to the garage opened, and in walked Tifa, still dressed in a slim, blue cocktail dress from their date. Her eyes settled on him, a smile gracing her features.
"Cloud... I'm so sorry," she told him, walking up behind him and massaging his shoulders, "but he's trying... I warned him that he better not say anything bad in front of the kids."
Cloud closed his eyes and relaxed, easing into her comforts, which was helping. "It's not your fault, I just... I hope it works out. I don't want to come between you and your father, especially after you just got him back."
He set the wrench down and looked at her over his shoulder. "How's it even possible? Angel lost her gift."
She shook her head. "I'm not sure, but he said he's been looking for me for 3 months. I think that was back when Angel still had her gift."
She leaned in, still rubbing his shoulders. "Cloud, I love my father... but this is his issue. Not yours. He needs to accept you, and that is the bottom line. If he rejects you, he rejects me."
Tifa turned him around to face her.
"Cloud... I want to be very clear. You... are everything to me, and I am not giving you up for anything or anyone. If he won't accept you... then he is not accepting me, either. It wouldn't be you coming in between me and my father; it would be him turning his back on us."
He looked up at her, blue eyes focused on her and taking in everything she was saying. He pulled her gently toward him until she was sitting on his lap, and he held her close.
"Tifa, what I said to you that day... when you found me... laying there in that pile of rubble... I meant every word. You are the only woman I have ever and will ever... love. No one else understands me like you do."
He sighed then, closing his eyes. "I don't want you to have to choose between me or your dad. I want it to work out... I just hope he can finally wake up and get past his narrow-sighted ways."
"I really hope so, Cloud," Tifa told him, running her fingers through his hair, "I understand that... but know that it's my father who needs to shape up or ship out. I won't cut him out of my life, but I won't have him hurting our family, either."
She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, softly.
"Our family..." he breathed... before smiling as she kissed him.
"I love you so much, Cloud," she smiled, "and I'm going to marry you."
"You know, Teef," he told her with a smirk, his eyes glowing with a bit of mischief. "Our date was cut short, but I'm not quite done with you yet. I had planned to try and sweep you off your feet after dinner."
She grinned playfully, sliding her arms around his neck, resting her fingers teasingly at the back of his neck. "Oh... you had planned? You mean... you don't plan to sweep me off my feet anymore?"
She gave him a mocking pout. "That's... so sad..."
She lightly drew her fingers down to his collar, scooting herself forward a bit.
The glow in his eyes intensified as he tried not to shiver from her touch, though the hairs on his arms stood on end.
"I never said that."
He leaned in and stole a kiss from her.
Tifa kissed him back, throwing as much passion as she possibly could into it. She tightened her embrace, her heart rate increasing...
She pulled back, giving him a smirk.
Cloud smirked right back. "Challenge accepted. I think we've waited long enough to resume our game. I can see you're already trying to pull a fast one, but I don't break so easily."
He had almost blushed until he realized she may be trying to get the upper hand back from earlier.
She smiled sweetly at him and leaned close to his ear.
"I already made you blush tonight, Mr. Strife," she whispered, "And you made me blush tonight... so I guess we need a tie-breaker."
Cloud turned his head and kissed her right on the lips, aiming to catch her off guard and prove to her that he wasn't the same shy kid she grew up with. He was the leader of AVALANCHE for a reason. He was the hero of Edge for a reason. He was the planet's champion for a reason. That reason was because of her, and she deserved to know it.
And catch her off guard he did. Her cheeks flared red, and he had a close-up view. Of course, once the shock wore off, she really didn't give a damn who won... they both did.