Chapter 35: The Fate of Cloti
September 20, 0001
It was nighttime. The stars and the moon were out as the boat slowly cruised through the coastal ocean once again. It was heading west now, and was stopping only for food and fuel.
The fifteen-year-old Cloud and the fourteen-year-old Tifa stood awkwardly in the cockpit as the former piloted the boat further and further west.
"Look, I already explained everything," Cloud said. "So can we please drop it?"
"No problem," Tifa replied. "No problem."
They continued until ten. Then they dropped anchor and called it a night.
September 21, 0001
On the second day, they spotted Kalm around noon. They were teenagers now, and the two of them going about without an adult would raise fewer eyebrows. So they stopped in town and stocked up on more food and fuel. Tifa also bought a couple of games and some clothes while she was at it.
September 22, 0001
On the night of the third day, they passed Midgar, where they were greeted by the lights and pops of celebrations.
"What are the fireworks for?" Cloud asked.
"I think to celebrate the end of the Wutai War," Tifa replied.
"That's right," Cloud agreed. "One that didn't need to happen."
He paused; he realized something.
"Funny," he said. "I'm in Midgar right now. My other self, that is, training for a SOLDIER position I would never earn. I remember seeing those fireworks from the Shinra Building. I'm almost tempted to go there any tell myself to quit."
Tifa's eyes widened.
"But I won't, of course," he assured her. "I don't even have the energy to think about how that might fuck up the timeline."
September 23, 0001
On the fourth day, they hit the open ocean, and lost sight of the Eastern Continent. They truly were nowhere again, and both felt like the only two people in the world.
It gave them both time to think.
September 24, 0001
It was dusk.
Tifa stood at the front of the deck, staring into the sea.
She was thinking a lot about Cloud, and what the two of them had been through since they were turned back into children.
You could have lost him, you know, her mind told her. It's a miracle you're still in each other's lives at all.
You came close to losing him. What can stop that from happening again?
Her mind had a good point. She had no idea where they would wind up next, or what could possibly pop up.
She remembered how she rejected him when she was nine. It was not exactly wrong; kids that age don't think about that kind of love. But now that she was a teenage girl, things were different. She was old enough to feel sparks again.
And she felt them for Cloud.
She also remembered their lives as adults.
She remembered every single detail.
She realized that it was reasonable to get back together with him.
She realized if they did not; she would be haunted for the rest of her life.
She might even lose the will to live.
She knew they were a good couple; in a previous life, they were married and had a daughter. They always got a long, and their worst conflicts were the inability to express their feelings. She realized that they had so much in common. They were even the same grade level, though Tifa was nine months younger than Cloud.
There were only two major differences between them.
The first was their sex. Cloud was a boy, and Tifa was a girl. That was no problem.
The second was their sexual orientations. Tifa was demisexual; Cloud was decidedly heterosexual.
That's more of an issue, Tifa thought to herself. I'm thinking with my heart; he's thinking with his penis. Okay, his heart and his penis.
He likes girls. He wants to date a girl being a girl.
If I'm going to win him back for good, I'll need to be girlier than I'm normally comfortable with.
She did not like to be carried; she would make an exception.
She did not like to be spoiled; she would make an exception.
She did not like to be rescued; she would make an exception.
And then, she realized there was more to it.
He lusts. I need to be sexy for him, too. I've got his attention from that before.
On my thirteenth birthday, I wore a crop top that got his attention. I did the same thing on my second thirteenth birthday, but he was distracted.
She realized she would need to come up with something new.
She thought about it for so long that the sun had set completely and the stars came out.
And then, she smiled.
I got it, she realized.
September 25, 0001
Tifa spent the whole day quiet, but smiling.
Cloud was suspicious that she was up to something, but knew that asking her anything would prove futile.
Later that afternoon, they spotted Costa del Sol, and dropped anchor at one of their docks.
"I'm going shopping," Tifa announced, trying to hide a smirk.
"By yourself?" Cloud asked.
"This time, yes," she said. "And don't try to follow me!"
She's definitely up to something, Cloud realized.
September 26, 0001
On the seventh day, the trap was set.
The day began as usual. The teenage Cloud and Tifa made breakfast for themselves and mainly spent the day hanging around the boat and playing games.
Tifa was frequently reaching into her jeans pocket and checking the time on her phone.
Cloud already knew she was planning something, so he did not let it sway him.
Finally, at four, Tifa decided it was time. She was somewhat nervous, as she would not know the outcome until it happened, but she felt as if she should not wait any longer.
"Cloud," she began, "there's something serious I want to talk to you about."
She stood up, and assumed the serious-talk posture both of them had seen on television.
Cloud stood up nervously; she seemed more sincere that she usually was.
"Cloud," she began, "I thought of a million ways to say this, but I think it need to say it."
She took a deep breath.
"I want to go on a date with you."
"A date?!" Cloud replied. "You mean like…those kind of dates?"
"Yes, Cloud," she replied in sincerity. "One of those kind of dates."
Cloud was silent. He had been hoping for the words for years. And, yet, they seemed too good to be true.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked.
"I'm fourteen and you're fifteen," she said. "We're old enough to date. And I want to go on a date with you. I've wanted to for a while, Cloud."
Cloud almost wanted to hit himself to make sure this was not a dream.
"You're formally asking me out?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm formally asking you out," she replied with a smile. "I've grown up a bit. And I feel that way again."
"So….where to?" Cloud almost stammered, still taking reality in.
"I want you to hide your eyes and count to two thousand," Tifa commanded.
This was unusual.
"Two thousand?!" he replied in surprise.
"You got it," she replied. "When you hit two thousand, come find me. I'll be waiting at the boardwalk's central point."
This was another occasion where Cloud knew that probing Tifa for any more answers would prove futile.
Defeated, Cloud covered his eyes and began to count.
He heard rustling and tiptoeing for the first two hundred seconds, but otherwise heard silence afterward.
It would be worth pointing out that counting to two thousand is not as outrageous as it sounds; it took Cloud only half an hour. When he uncovered his eyes, he could see that he was, of course, alone on the boat.
He thus decided to go looking for Tifa. He stepped up to the deck, where he could see Tifa's jeans, tee shirt, sneakers, and socks all neatly piled; she had obviously changed into something.
He stepped off the boat and onto the dock. He made his way through the alley to the boardwalk, which was quite crowded.
He did not take long to find the central point, which was the most crowded part of the boardwalk.
He scanned the area, seeing people of all ages and all walks of life go by.
Then, Cloud saw what he was looking for.
There, standing on the boardwalk, with a beautiful smile on her beautiful face, was Tifa.
She was wearing a pair of blue bikini bottoms and an orange baby shirt that read "Beach Girl" on it. She had a pair of orange sandals to match the shirt. She was also in full makeup, and was wearing an emerald pendant necklace.
Cloud felt his heart skip a beat; this was far from what he had been expecting.
She looked playful, innocent, vulnerable, and sexy all at the same time. And she was that way just for him.
"Hey you!" she greeted as she trotted up to him and hugged him. "Glad you found me."
Cloud scanned Tifa again; it was the most he had seen of her in years, and he was at a loss for words.
"No," Tifa laughed. "You're not overdressed. I wanted things this way."
Cloud could feel tingles firing away. If she had intended to reignite the spark between them, she had succeeded.
"It's funny," she said as she scanned the boardwalk. "So many of these places closed down. I thought we'd never see them again."
And then, one of the stores caught her eye.
"Skee Ball!" Tifa exclaimed. "I love this!"
She immediately trotted over to the machine as Cloud put the gil in.
"Ladies first," Tifa giggled.
Cloud found it slightly odd; Tifa was not the type to giggle.
"I'm going to need some room to concentrate," she announced with a smile.
Cloud stepped back, and quickly realized what she meant; she wanted him to have a view of her, particularly her lower half.
Tifa reached back, rolled the ball, and scored a 100.
"Woot!" she exclaimed as she raised her hand in the air and struck a pose. "Okay, your turn."
Cloud stepped up and began to roll the ball. As he was about to let go, Tifa ran up to him and poked his side. The ball thus did not roll as planned, and ended up in the gutter.
Cloud turned to Tifa.
"I didn't do it," she said innocently.
The quarter allowed them at the skee ball for fifteen minutes, where they were mostly engaged in a poke war. Then, they decided they wanted to explore the rest of the boardwalk.
As Cloud and Tifa turned around, they both jumped slightly in surprise.
A green-haired girl who appeared to be in their age group was standing there. She was mere inches away, and was staring right at them.
"Can I help you?" Tifa asked.
"What are you doing here?" the girl demanded.
"We're on a date!" Tifa announced.
The green-haired girl then looked down and scanned Tifa's bikini bottoms.
"That's not formal enough to put on pants?" she asked.
"The boardwalk is the one of the few places I can go on a date with a guy I like sans pants," Tifa retorted. She then decided to rub it in more. "You're lucky I'm wearing full bottoms and not a thong."
"Ew," groaned the girl.
Tifa had the "how-much-ass-should-I-show" conversation with herself when selecting bikini bottoms, and actually toyed with the idea of wearing a thong before settling on a pair of Hawaii lo; it would show not too little, not to much.
The green-haired girl then scanned Tifa's eyes and hair. She scanned Cloud's eyes and hair.
Tifa, meanwhile, scanned the mole above the girl's left eye, and her own eyes widened.
Cloud scanned the girl's feet.
Curiously, she was wearing an ankle monitor.
"I-I have to go," the girl said as she turned and walked off.
"That was weird," Cloud said.
"Where have I seen that girl before?" Tifa asked herself.
She then recognized the mole.
"It's Lynn!" she whispered.
"Lynn?" Cloud asked.
"From the orphanage!" Tifa whispered back. "My old roommate!"
"Do you think she recognized us?" he asked aloud, now that Lynn was gone.
"I hope not," she replied. "If she did, she could report us, and we'd have to run to the boat. But I doubt she did."
She then looked down the boardwalk.
"There's a zooka down there," she continued.
She looked at Cloud. She braced herself, and decided to ask him something that was usually out of her comfort zone.
"Give me a piggyback ride over there?" she requested.
Cloud was surprised at first, as the independent woman he knew for years would never ask for that. But it was something he was more than happy to comply with. He stood in front of her, wrapped his arms around her legs, and lifted her onto his back.
She wrapped her arms around his chest and enjoyed the ride. She actually did not mind the feeling. She was concerned that it would make her feel helpless and dependent, but, instead, it made her feel something else.
She felt trust.
As for Cloud, he was getting the tingles again. He had not experienced the feeling of her skin in five years. He was almost disappointed when the ride ended two minutes later when they arrived at the zooka.
"One thing I really regret," Tifa began as she put on a batting helmet and picked up a bat, "is that I never played softball."
"Now you have another chance," Cloud pointed out.
"Touché," Tifa acknowledged.
The zooka fired a ball at eighty miles an hour.
Tifa swung with all her might, and she did indeed strike the ball, but she sent it rolling on the ground past the white line.
"Nice bunt," Cloud complimented.
"That wasn't a bunt," Tifa replied. "That was a foul."
"Want to try the mini-golf?" Cloud suggested.
"Yeah, why not," she agreed.
They spent twenty minutes playing mini-golf, resulting in another poke war whenever someone tried to hit the ball.
Both Cloud and Tifa cherished the bonding.
Still, nothing romantic seemed to be happening.
Tifa began to feel concerned. She was getting butterflies in her stomach about Cloud, and she could feel a vibe that he had butterflies about her as well. She wanted to take his hand, but she remembered that he was only fifteen; he might respond differently than he would when he was twenty one.
And at the end, Tifa requested where they would go next.
"Ice cream?" she asked.
"Sure thing," he replied.
They began to make their way to the kiosk.
You idiot, Cloud suddenly thought to himself. She's being girly around you. She's flirting with you. She's even being sexy for you. Don't you get it? She likes you again!
Of course, he could be wrong. He was wrong about a lot of things and right about others.
But in this case, there was only one way to find out.
Cautiously, Cloud took Tifa's hand in his.
And he immediately felt her hold his back.
He looked at Tifa.
She turned to him.
She was smiling, and her eyes were wet.
She was on cloud nine.
After five long years, it was a wonderful feeling for them both.
This is amazing, Tifa thought to himself. I thought I lost him. Now he knows how I feel, and he seems to feel the same way.
Then, something else hit her.
I wonder if we'll kiss tonight.
I really, really hope we kiss tonight.
They reached the ice cream kiosk. Neither Cloud nor Tifa wanted to let go of each other's hands, resulting in Cloud struggling to pull gil out of his pocket.
They got their ice cream. As they left, someone was standing right before them.
It was Lynn again.
"Say," she began, "I think I know who you are!"
Tifa felt her stomach tighten.
If she recognizes us, she could report us. We'll go to foster homes again.
Possibly separate ones.
Do we hightail it?
"You're the Lane Cousins!" Lynn stated. "I knew it! You're the Lane cousins. Aren't you?"
"You clearly see us holding hands," Tifa pointed out, finding the accusation almost laughable.
"No shit," Lynn said. "That's why you're wanted for incest. Now come with me to the Bolton School where you belong!"
"Why do you think we're them?" Cloud asked.
"Because," replied Lynn, "one, you're about the same age. As they are. Two, Matt has blue eyes and spikey blond hair. Three, Julie, whose five months older, has raven hair and chestnut eyes. Four, you look almost identical to the computer age-up they sent out."
"Case of mistaken identity," Tifa assured her.
"Relax," Lynn continued. "I don't turn people into the law. In fact, I stay far away from the law. But watch your asses. The authorities have been looking for you for three years now. I'm in the Bolton School myself for burning down my old orphanage three years ago, and I'm not getting out until I'm twenty-one. You suffer the same fate if they catch you."
"We'll keep our eyes peeled," Cloud assured her.
"Good, Mr. Lane," Lynn replied as she turned to walk off. "You two cousins enjoy your date. I incest, sorry, insist you watch out for the cops."
Both Cloud and Tifa waited until Lynn was gone before either of them said anything.
"She's totally convinced we're them," Cloud said.
"Don't let it get to you," she assured him as she took his hand again. "At least she didn't recognize us from the orphanage."
Cloud and Tifa sat down on a bench and finished their ice cream.
She then turned her head to face the ocean. The sun was beginning to set, casting a beautiful red glow across both the sky and sea.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked with a smile.
Cloud simply shrugged.
Tifa laughed and poked him.
"Come on!"
She pulled him off the bench and led him onto the beach. She kicked off her sandals and led him into the water.
They stopped when Tifa was knee-deep in the water.
They were alone now.
Just Cloud, Tifa, and the sea.
This is the perfect romantic setting, Tifa realized. Now is the moment of truth.
Neither of us will mind if I make the move now.
I hope.
She turned to face him.
She stroked his spiky hair.
She placed her hands on his shoulders.
He placed his hands on hers.
It gave her a little tingle, but…..
"Put your hands around my waist," she commanded.
"What's wrong with your shoulders?" he asked.
"Because I'm a girl, that's why," she replied.
He wrapped his arms around her waist.
Tifa felt sparks flying fast.
She gazed at his lips.
He gazed at hers.
Both wanted the moment to happen.
She looked at him in the eyes.
"Cloud?" she began.
And, before he could respond, she leaned in, and pressed her lips against his.
And she felt him kissing back.
She broke the kiss, and gazed at her man once again.
"Please," Tifa pleaded.
"Please what?"
"Kiss me again," she whispered.
Cloud kissed her, more deeply than before.
They broke the kiss again, and they could both see that their eyes were wet.
Tifa then hugged him tightly, and rested her head on his chest.
"I've missed that so much!"
"Me, too" he replied as he took both of her hands in his.
He then asked the question he had wanted to ask that entire evening.
"Are we together again?" he asked, somewhat nervously. "As a couple?"
"Yes," Tifa replied as she wiped a tear. "Yes we are!"
She kissed him again, placing her hand on the back of his head as she did so.
"You love me again?"
"I never stopped loving you," Tifa replied happily as more tears escaped her eyes. "Why would I?"
"Well," he solemnly explained, "we we first got here, you said we couldn't be together anymore.
Tifa smiled and stroked his hair.
"Cloud," she replied, "I had the brain of a nine-year-old!"
With that, she jumped into his arms, with Cloud barely catching her legs.
Her lower legs and feet, having been in the water, got his shirt and shorts wet.
He could not care less.
And they kissed again.
LATER….
Cloud and Tifa returned to the dock just before curfew took effect. She led the way this time, partly because she had won him over, and felt comfortable taking charge again, and partly to give him a view of her butt, which her bikini bottoms flattered.
As they reached the boat, Tifa turned to Cloud, and threw him another smile.
"Carry me," she commanded.
Cloud picked her up and carried her into the boat.
She then went straight to the deck and placed her hand on the bars. The stars were now out, and she wanted to have a view of them, and him to have a view of her.
A few minutes later, Cloud and Tifa were laying on their backs next to each other, staring at the stars.
A comet flew by, and Tifa gasped.
"Did you make a wish?" Cloud asked.
"I don't need to," she replied as she turned her head towards him and smiled. "I just got what I wished for the most!"
She paused.
"You know, I just realized Meteor is only six years from now," she continued. "Since then, I haven't really been a fan of comets."
Cloud was silent. He found it somewhat amusing that they would live through Meteor again in a few years, only to be completely aware of the outcome.
Tifa then turned over on her front, and rested her arm on Cloud.
"This turned out to be a perfect day," she said. "Thank you."
"Thank you," he said. "I spent the last five years afraid this would never happen again."
"I'll never forgive myself," she said, and kissed him on the cheek.
"It's in the past," Cloud assured her. "No need to feel awful about it."
"Awful doesn't begin to describe it," Tifa said. "I almost want to take the Chronus Wand, go back five years, and kick my nine-year-old self's ass!" She laughed, and paused. "But I'd probably get arrested for child abuse. I don't want to go to jail."
She became silent. Something, at that moment, crossed her mind.
I don't want to go to jail, she repeated in her mind.
Or do I?
An hour later, Cloud and Tifa were sitting up, still on the deck. Tifa was turned to her side. This was, of course, to give Cloud a perfect view of her bare legs. Her head still faced him, and she smiled.
"Well," she laughed, "I definitely want to do a second date.
Cloud laughed back, knowing they were more or less already together again.
"What should we do?" he asked.
"I'd honestly like the boardwalk again," she replied. She then took his hand. "Only this time I'll probably ditch the shirt and go full bikini."
Cloud smiled, happy at that idea.
"I had a feeling you would like that," she said. "I haven't worn a bikini since Sephiroth turned us into kids."
"No kidding," Cloud added.
Suddenly, Tifa stood up.
"Listen," she began, "I really hate to get up, but the gale will come any minute. We should probably get into the cabin."
"That sucks," Cloud sighed.
"There will be another time," Tifa replied.
And then, she decided to be herself again, and helped him up. She had won him over; she could stop with the act. And yet, somehow, she enjoyed it.
She led him into the cabin, giving him a view of her as she did so. She then turned to him, and smiled again.
"Can I have five more minutes?" she requested innocently.
"Of what?" he asked naively.
In response, Tifa pushed him into the seat. Before he could say anything, she straddled him, and planted a kiss on his mouth.
Those five minutes turned into ten. Then, to twenty. They heard the gale go by, but they paid it no heed. Their kissing became more passionate, with their tongues pressing against each other, and each of them running their fingers through the other's hair.
And then, it came naturally. Cloud took his right hand and ran it down Tifa's back through her shirt, stopping at the small.
His pinky touched the fabric of her bikini bottoms.
Tifa suddenly became alarmed.
"Wait," she whispered.
The kissing stopped.
She got up and sat down next to him.
"What's wrong?" Cloud asked.
"We need to set boundaries before it goes too forward," she answered as she fixed her hair.
"Boundaries?"
"I'm fourteen and you're fifteen," Tifa replied. "This is all I can give you for now."
Cloud did not object; at this point, he was happy that they were back together. He realized that, if he was a little patient, life would slowly return to the way it had been as they grew up.
"Please don't be mad," she pleaded.
"I'm not," he assured her. "We do need to take our time."
For a few minutes, both of them sat silently next to each other.
Suddenly, Tifa picked up her cell phone, and began to search.
"What's up?" Cloud asked.
"The Lane cousins," Tifa replied as she read her phone. "Matthew and Julie. They're on the run from the law because they fell in love with each other. They were tried in absentia and were sentenced to the Bolton School until they're twenty-one."
"But they're not there," Cloud inferenced. "Because they're still at large."
"Correct," Tifa affirmed. "The Bolton School has two empty dorms with their names on them.
"Were they ever caught?" Cloud asked. "In the future, I mean."
"To the best of my knowledge, no," Tifa replied. "They probably changed their identity somehow or got killed."
"And they look like us?" Cloud asked.
"They disappeared three years ago," Tifa answered. "Nobody knows what they look like now. If they're even alive, that is."
Cloud was baffled as to why Tifa would be so interested in this situation.
And then, it dawned on him.
"Wait a minute," he began. "Are you about to suggest we impersonate the Lane cousins and turn ourselves in at the Bolton school?"
"You read me all too well," she replied.
"Why?" he asked. "I don't like it."
"Sooner or later we're going to get caught without an adult again," Tifa pointed out. "We may be teenagers, but the moment we get spotted sailing after curfew, we're screwed. And there's the other thing."
"What other thing?"
"What if we accidentally encounter one of our friends in the past? Or, even worse, our past selves?"
She had a point; even if they avoided where they were at this time, they knew little about where their friends were at this time. Even Yuffie, who was ten at this time, could pop up behind any shrub.
They could not risk altering the timeline.
At the Bolton School, they would certainly not encounter anyone they knew, and the timeline would be safe. But, still….
"It's a reform school," Cloud protested. "It's a jail for kids."
"Not exactly," Tifa replied. "It runs just like a regular high school. We'll have most of the freedoms we love we want as long as we stay on campus. Plus, since the Lane cousins are incestuous, so we can be a couple there."
Cloud sighed.
There was one final issue he needed to address.
"We'll have to deal with Lynn again," Cloud reminded her. "What if she burns down this place as well?"
"It's a whole campus this time," Tifa replied. "And all the buildings are brick. In the present, I had it turned into a university."
She turned to Cloud.
"So, what's the final verdict?"