A/N: Rated M for language and sexual content.
Chapter 37:
At the exact moment Cloud had broken his arms free of Jenova's tentacle binds, the creature recovered from its surprised stupor and realized what was about to happen. It pulled Cloud toward it at full speed and concentrated in order to attack his mind more viciously than ever before. The pain was excruciating, and Cloud let his sword drop in one hand while bringing the other up to his head as if that would help. He closed his eyes tight instinctively, even though he knew there was nothing he could do. This was it. Jenova had bested him, and he was now being pulled toward the creature at lightning speed.
What Cloud didn't see until he realized his cells hadn't fully merged with the creature's was that Zack had appeared once again, driving his own Buster sword into the monster's brain. Cloud opened his eyes to see his departed friend's sword deep in the fiend, and Cloud joined him with his own Ultima Weapon.
As soon as Zack's sword pierced the monster's head its entire body began to shake violently. The tentacles still wrapped around Cloud's waist were released, and with the merging of his cells stopped, he was able to drive his sword to the hilt through Jenova's head, right between its eyes. He wrenched the sword inside the monster's head to make sure it was good and dead as his feet landed on the ground again.
As the creature shook, the surrounding party members could see it start to crumble away. Instead of the usual green pyreflies that would leave the body of a deceased, floating upward as if swimming through the ocean only to dissipate, these were black. And instead of drifting toward the heavens, these dissolved like soot dropping from a clogged flue. Jenova would not return to the planet, because it was not of the planet. What remained of the creature that had created so much havoc for Gaia over thousands of years was a pile of black ash at the bottom of the deepest crater.
Its head turned a translucent red before suffering the same fate, the black dust falling around Cloud's sword, which he didn't have to remove. There was nothing left of the alien but cinders, which scattered around the area as a white wind encircled the fiend.
Cloud looked down at the pile of ash, hoping this was enough to destroy the monster. When the wind appeared, so did a bright light from above. The light caught Cloud's attention, along with Tifa's and everyone else's. They looked up as the light blinded them, causing them to shield their eyes.
Tifa looked over at Cloud when she noticed gray pyreflies rising out of him and no one else.
"Cloud?" Tifa asked, fearful that he was disappearing along with Jenova.
Cloud realized in that moment what she was referring to and bent his elbows to look at his palms as gray orbs rose from him. He flipped his hands over and back again as the wisps floated upward. He looked around to realize that this was only happening to him. He closed his eyes, trying to hide what he was feeling as he, like Tifa, thought he had gotten too close to Jenova and that what had merged was now vanishing.
He lifted his head toward the bright light above, accepting his fate. He felt no pain, as he had when he was beginning to merge with Jenova thanks to the cells that had been implanted into his body. It didn't feel as though his insides were being ripped out; instead, it felt like a cool breeze was running through him, gently calling him to the planet.
Barret and everyone else slowly noticed what was happening as they stopped looking upwards at the light. Soft gasps could be heard from almost everyone. Yuffie was already crying and had brought her hands up to her mouth, shaking her head and silently mouthing the word "no" behind her hands. After everything that had happened, after everything they had gone through, they would be going on without Cloud. The planet owed its life to the blond, and it was bringing him home.
Tifa ran forward and draped her arms around Cloud's shoulder, refusing to let him go and crying into his shoulder. She had just gotten him back, and now she was watching him disappear in front of her eyes. Cloud gently brought his arms around her and held her close, tilting his head down to rest against hers. There were a million things he wanted to say to her, but he couldn't find his voice.
Reno reached out subtly to try and stop Tifa, but settled for crossing his arms and huffing. Let her have this last moment with the guy before he disappeared from their lives forever – again. He resigned himself to the notion that he would simply have to get over her attachment to Spike once he was gone. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to win this particular contest, but a win was a win.
For a few more moments the pyreflies rose from Cloud's body, but they didn't completely float into the light. As with Jenova, some soot began to rain down on and around him, revealing white light orbs that quickly disappeared.
Tifa continued to grip Cloud's shirt as everyone else gathered around. She could feel something light yet grimy falling on her skin, like sand at the beach. She sobbed as he held her, unintelligibly trying to beg him not to go.
She soon realized that whatever had coated her skin was no longer accumulating, and yet she could still feel the fabric of Cloud's shirt and the beat of his heart. She sniffled and lifted her head to see that he was still standing next to her, holding her. Pyreflies were no longer rising from him, but he was still whole. His face and skin were speckled with tiny wounds where the merger with Jenova began, but all in all, he was well. He even looked… brighter than Tifa had ever seen him look. It was as if the darkness that had been inside him all this time was finally removed.
As the light emanated from Cloud down in the pit, those above in the cavern witnessed something similar. The monsters they had been fighting back, that were so determined to end their lives by running into the pit and merging with Jenova, were suddenly docile. As with Cloud, dark pyreflies left their bodies, dancing into the sky and leaving behind a dusting of black ash.
Around the world, gray pyreflies were lifting from the monsters terrorizing each town. A family that had just sat down to dinner in Costa del Sol now watched out their picture window as strange light floated around the monsters that had made it impossible for them to leave their home the past few weeks. They, like others around the globe, felt a healing presence washing over Gaia. The monsters outside were continuing to thrash around when the pyreflies first appeared but had now calmed as though they had been domesticated. Instead of attacking the structures in town, they sniffed the air before lowering their heads. Their pupils, which had become cat-like slits while their Jenova cells were called to the crater, returned to normal, and the herbivores began to graze.
Elmyra had been hunkered down with Marlene in a hut in North Corel, fearing the end. The city had made a lot of progress in the past two years with Barret's guidance and money made from the oil fields, but that progress was slow. Many people still lived in tents and makeshift homes while waiting for the money to come in so that they could upgrade. As the monster population increased and became more erratic, many of those cheap homes had been destroyed. Barret hadn't upgraded his own home, deciding he would make sure everyone else in town was on their feet before taking care of himself.
The sounds of stomping hooves and feet outside the little hut where Elmyra and Marlene clung to each other suddenly stopped. The walls no longer shook, the hanging lamp in the center of the room no longer seemed like it was about to break, and the dust that had been shaken free began to settle. Marlene looked up at Elmyra questioningly before pulling out of her embrace and running toward a window. She placed her small hands on the windowsill and peered out as Elmyra stood up and followed her – just in case this was merely a calm.
They could see the monsters outside had stopped their rampage and were now looking around as if they didn't know where they were. Lights danced around them and black dust fell to the ground as the creatures started to move in a less agitated manner.
The people of Edge slowly started to leave their homes when they realized they were no longer being terrorized by the monsters outside. Fiends remained in the town, but they turned and ran whenever a human got close to them. People grabbed brooms, pitchforks, or whatever else they could use as weapons to force the monsters out of town. It was the first time many people had even left their house in weeks.
Cid and Nanaki each ended up in the path of the falling soot from the monsters in the crater.
"The hell?" Cid asked as he brushed it off his jacket and arms.
Nanaki sneezed and shook his whole body like a wet dog, flinging soot everywhere. He then sat down and began to scratch behind his ear with his back leg, releasing more dust.
"Thanks, pal," Cid said as he was again covered in the ash.
Tseng and Elena looked up into the light, Elena placing a hand across her brow to shield her eyes while Tseng used his arm. They hadn't realized how cold it was in the crater until the light warmed their faces.
Elena noticed the gray pyreflies rising from out of the pit and looked down. Her eyes widened and she tugged on Tseng's sleeve.
"Look!" she exclaimed as she watched what was happening to Cloud.
Cid and Nanaki walked to the edge of the rocky ledge and peered down below. Since the monsters were no longer fighting them, they jumped down to join their friends, followed by Tseng and Elena.
"You didn't disappear," Tifa said when no more pyreflies left Cloud's body.
He again looked at his hands to verify what she said and then turned to her with a smile.
"Looks that way," he responded. "I feel… different. Do I look different?"
"It looks like you've been through hell," Tifa teased. "But you look lighter."
"I feel lighter," Cloud replied, taking Tifa's hand in his. She blushed.
"Cloud!" Yuffie ran toward him and threw her arms around his neck, standing on her toes to match his height. "You idiot! We thought you were leaving us!" She began hitting his chest with her fist.
Cloud chuckled as he placed his hands on either side of Yuffie's hips and gently pulled away from her grip.
"You think you could get rid of me that easily?" he joked.
Before Yuffie could retort, the whole crater began to shake as it had two years ago when they defeated Sephiroth. Everyone froze except to look at each other for ideas. Small debris and larger boulders began to dislodge from the crater walls and crash down into the pit. Nanaki quickly dove out of the way of one that threatened to flatten him. A smaller rock hit Rude in the shoulder.
"We have to get outta here!" Cid yelled over the sounds of cracking walls and falling debris.
The situation was just as it was two years ago. The party jumped out of the pit and back up to the cavern above, which was now clear of monsters. The fiends that had remained had turned around in an effort to evacuate the crater, some falling into the Lifestream as others pushed and shoved to save themselves.
AVALANCHE and the Turks quickly realized the path leading up had been completely destroyed this time. Monsters were running around desperately looking for a way to escape, stampeding over each other and knocking some of the experienced fighters to the ground.
"Back to the cavern!" Cloud called to everyone before heading to the entrance of the cave they had just exited. He waited to make sure everyone else entered before going in himself.
"Now what?" Barret asked.
"I don't know," Cloud said, a slight panic in his voice. Had they really just saved the world only to die in the Northern Crater?
Cid was already on his PHS talking to the crew of the Highwind, barking orders and demanding action.
"Don't give me that shit!" he yelled. "Just do what I fuckin' tell ya!"
Reno, trying to keep his balance as the walls caved in around everyone, looked at his fellow Turks and knew what he had to do. He retrieved his own PHS and quickly scrolled through his contacts to dial a number before bringing the device to his ear, hoping he could get through.
"Reno?" he could hear the woman's voice on the other end. "What's going on down there?"
"Shotgun," Reno said, eliciting a groan from the woman on the phone. "Listen carefully and do as I say."
"That's not my name! And who the fuck do you think you are, talking to me like that?"
"Goddammit Shotgun! Listen to me! Get out of there. Fly away. Now. As fast as you can."
"No way!" Shotgun responded. "We're Turks. We don't leave each other behind, no matter how awful certain members of the family may be."
A boulder fell from above and crashed into the ground just next to Reno as he spoke, causing him to cling to the wall to keep from being smashed into bits. He again looked at his friends, though it was difficult due to the ground shaking. Rude and Tseng were expressionless, knowing the second-in-command was making the right call. They all may be about to die in the crater, but Freyra didn't need to die with them.
"Freyra…" Reno said, irritation growing in his voice. "Just get out of here. Save yourself!"
He flipped his phone closed and ignored the immediate incoming phone call. He looked over at Tifa to find her backed against the wall. The ledge between them had been broken by the cave-in. She barely had enough room to stand. The pit below no longer held cubed stone. All that remained was the Lifestream, a bottomless pit housing the souls of the dead.
Tifa kept pushing herself back against the cave wall as it vibrated her forward toward the pit. Rocks dislodged beneath her feet to fall into the Lifestream as the ground crumbled beneath her.
"Tifa!" Reno called out, rushing to the edge of the rocky formation he was standing on. "Give me your hand!"
Tifa looked at him and then to her other side. The ledge to her left was broken as well, and the rest of AVALANCHE was too far away to reach her. Cloud was at the edge, also reaching out to her. Tifa assessed her options and realized AVALANCHE was too far away. She reached toward Reno and was about to jump when Cloud's arm encircled her waist and pulled her back. He had driven the tip of his sword into the wall to use as a platform to get closer to her and grab her.
Reno watched as Tifa floated away from him, still reaching out. That damn blond hero again. How could a Turk compare to boy wonder over there?
AVALANCHE huddled together on one side of what remained of the cavern while the Turks remained on the other side. As more light began to funnel into the bottom of the crater, a large shadow appeared and stretched from one side of the cavern to the other, growing larger by the second.
"Fuck yea!" Cid cheered when he realized his crew had listened to him even though it meant risking their lives.
The Highwind was approaching fast as the walls of the crater gave way to create space. When it had lowered as far as it could go, half a dozen rope ladders were dropped over the railing of the deck. Tseng ordered Elena to climb up before him. She protested, and he lifted her up toward the ladder to indicate he was not making a suggestion. She scaled the ladder as quickly as she could so that he could climb up behind her.
Reno told Rude to go up ahead of him. Reno wasn't one for self-sacrifice, but after the events of today he felt like he had the least to lose of anyone in the crater. Tifa would surely return to Cloud if they escaped, but everyone else had more than their colleagues to return to. Tseng and Elena had each other. Rude wasn't broken like Reno. AVALANCHE, he supposed, all had each other and families somewhere, or were like Vincent and didn't care about other people.
As Reno climbed the ladder behind Rude, he felt empty. The Turks had always been enough for him, but now he felt like something was missing in his life. He could see members of AVALANCHE climbing up the ladders on the other side of the Highwind. Tifa was across from him, having been forced by Cloud to go up ahead. Reno continued to climb while watching her through the rungs. For a brief moment she caught his glance and seemed to give him a look as if she was trying to apologize. It stung him, but he looked up toward the airship and climbed even faster as Rude peered over the railing at him, extending a hand to help up his partner.
As soon as the last of the group was on the deck, Cid gave the order to take off as fast as possible. He didn't want to be one of the first to climb up, as he, like Cloud, would have gladly given his life to ensure everyone else survived, but he was the captain of the ship and he needed to get to the bridge so they could escape as soon as everyone was safe.
The Highwind burst out of the Northern Crater in a déjà vu moment for AVALANCHE. Again, they were clinging to the railing as the ship traveled at full speed away from the crater. Some had managed to make it inside before the airship took off, but still found themselves grabbing onto whatever they could to avoid flying into a wall.
Yuffie, particularly, was struggling with the rapid escape. She had gotten below the deck as soon as she jumped over the railing onto the ship and was trying to keep from throwing up. Tseng was bracing himself and Elena against the wall, while Rude and Reno gripped a railing up above on the deck. Nanaki had made it into the chocobo stall and had all four paws spread out to try and keep his balance. Cid and his crew were hanging on to the various control panels as they tried to right the ship. Cait Sith and Vincent were in the conference room holding onto the table, with the robot cat clinging desperately to the large stuffed moogle.
On deck, Barret was holding onto the railing with his good arm. Cloud had one arm around Tifa as he held them both close to another section of the railing.
With a violent jerk, the ship began to level off just in time for a huge beam of light to shoot out from the center of the planet and out the crater. The power of the energy caused the Highwind to hitch and be pushed further away from the crater. The crew recovered and continued a safe distance from the landform. Just as they had two years ago, AVALANCHE watched what was happening from the deck of the Highwind.
The light seemed to shoot deep into outer space, forcing out everything that was in the crater, including what remained of Jenova. Barret squinted to see that the flying specks he saw rushing toward the atmosphere were the monsters that had been left behind in the crater.
Rude scanned over the landscape around them to see small spots of light all over the planet.
"Jenova is gone," he said to no one in particular.
"You think so?" Reno piped up beside him, resting his forearms on the railing and leaning over it to look out into the distance.
"Can't you feel it?" the bald Turk asked without looking over at his partner. Reno glanced over at Rude with a skeptical expression before turning to gaze across the landscape.
"I think so, yo." He straightened his back and laced his fingers behind his head. "Ah but yanno, without Jenova to blame, Shinra's gonna become the world's enemy again."
"Looks like our jobs are secure, then," Rude with the slightest smirk.
Reno laughed at his partner's joke before he became solemn once again, resting his forearms once more on the railing to lean over. Going back to handling Shinra's dirty work meant no more work time spent with Tifa. Hopefully he would busy enough to not be sitting around thinking about her so he could get back to his regular life: Work, booze, broads. Eventually, the past two months would seem like some wonderful dream. But just like a dream, the haze would wear off and he would return to real life. He knew it wouldn't be that easy to restore normalcy; it was merely wishful thinking. Normalcy just didn't appeal to him anymore.
He was snapped out of his unusually pensive mood by the sound of laughter. He knew that laugh; that sweet, gentle, feminine laugh. It was a laugh he wanted just for himself, yet here he was listening to it brought out by someone else. He prickled at the thought and twisted slightly to look over his shoulder at her. She was with Barret and Cloud. He didn't know who made her laugh, but he hoped it was Barret.
"You really had us going there, Spike!" Barret said with a slap to Cloud's back, which sent the younger man staggering forward. "Thought we'd be escaping without ya."
"I thought that, too," Cloud said, staring at his feet. He didn't want to see the hurt look on Tifa's face again. He hadn't wanted to hurt her again, but it had been the only way to stop Jenova. Now that he was free of its cells, he could spend the rest of his life ensuring she would never feel that pain again.
"That was a pretty sick move though, tricking that thing into killing itself!" Barret said, this time punching Cloud in the arm.
Again, Cloud reeled from Barret's strength. He rubbed his arm and looked at the bigger man, confused. He didn't stab Jenova until after Zack did.
"That's what you saw?"
Barret narrowed his eyes and looked at Cloud with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? Your head still messed up?" he asked. Cloud shook his head.
"No, it's just…"
"What is it, Cloud?" Tifa asked, concerned. Cloud looked into her wine-colored eyes and sighed.
"You really didn't see Zack?" he asked.
"You saw Zack, again?" Tifa asked.
"Wait, hold up," Barret said. "You tellin' me you been seein' dead people?"
"Barret," Tifa scolded. "We all felt Aeris in that cave."
"Yeah but none of us saw her."
"Zack killed Jenova," Cloud interjected. "When I reached for my sword it shot me with another migraine – the worst I'd ever felt. I thought my head was going to cave in. I stopped pointing my sword at it and when I opened my eyes, Zack had stabbed it between the eyes."
Barret opened his mouth and narrowed one eye in disbelief. Cloud really was still messed up. Cloud ignored him and looked at Tifa.
"You didn't see him?"
She shook her head.
"None of us did," she responded. "We just saw you draw your sword and get pulled to Jenova. You stabbed it."
Cloud lowered his head and dropped his shoulders. "I swear he was there," he said. Tifa put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Maybe he was there. Like Aeris was there," she tried to cheer him up.
"Maybe I'm still crazy," Cloud said with a self-deprecating chuckle.
"You never were," Tifa said.
She happened to glance over to the other side of the deck to see Reno leaning back on his elbows against the railing, looking in her direction. He didn't seem to be staring at her though, more like he was spaced out. His eyes shifted slightly to focus on her and she gave him a quick smile.
She had been surprised that he didn't antagonize Cloud when they were in the Northern Crater or brag in front of everyone about how he had slept with her. She would have thought for sure that he would poke the bear, so to speak. She had cringed every time he and Cloud came close, thinking Reno was about to taunt him. Maybe he really had changed over the past two months. This certainly wasn't the Reno she had previously known, but she shouldn't have been surprised by his actions after getting to know him.
She didn't know what to do. She loved Cloud, she cared for him, but now that Jenova was defeated she found herself worried about so many things. Worried that Cloud would find out about her and Reno and how he would find out. Worried that she would lose either of them. She knew she couldn't have both, but she felt responsible for both of them now. She didn't want to break anyone's heart.
"Where we takin' everyone?" they heard Cid ask over a loudspeaker.
Tifa was thankful for the interruption and looked between her companions, who nodded.
"Should probably figure that out," Barret said as they turned to head inside to the bridge.
They passed Yuffie in her usual spot, hunched over and trying not to wretch again. They were joined on the bridge by the Turks and other members of AVALANCHE.
"Wow, full group," Cid mused as he looked over the crowd that was now hunkered nearby. "So, where's everyone goin'?"
"I was thinking," Tifa said, timidly stepping forward. "We could all go back to Seventh Heaven to celebrate before we all go home again. It might… be awhile before we see each other."
She looked at her feet sheepishly, tracing circles on the metal floor with the toe of her right boot.
"I'm down," Barret spoke up. "Let me just call Elmyra and Marlene."
Tseng looked at his team and nodded. "I think a celebration is in order."
Elena smiled. She had just come so close to death, she actually wanted to get drunk with the only other people on Gaia who had gone through the same thing. She felt a weird camaraderie with everyone currently standing on the bridge. The Turks had taken on some dangerous missions, but never anything like this. She had just helped save the world. Very few people could say they had done the same, and Elena didn't realize until this moment how big an accomplishment that actually was.
Reno placed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders, looking away from the group. Great, a party with all the AVALANCHE do-gooders probably ignoring the help they received from the Turks. They'd now saved the world twice; they probably still looked down on the Turks. Tifa noticed his annoyed expression and furrowed her brow for a minute, thinking of what she could do to lift his spirits.
"Drinks are on me," she said.
Reno didn't want to acknowledge her, but his ears betrayed him. Like a deer hearing the slightest crack of a twig as a warning sign, Reno's ears perked up at the mention of free booze. He was already looking at Tifa with a wide smile on his face before he even realized what he was doing.
"Now you're speakin' my language, bay-" he stopped himself from finishing the word, hoping he was quick enough to keep certain people from noticing. Sure, he called most women babe, but he feared he'd give himself away if he called this particular woman babe at this particular moment. Thankfully, Cloud didn't seem to pick up on anything out of the ordinary – just Reno being Reno.
"Woohoo!" Cid cheered, raising his fist in the air. "Let's get this party started!"
"I think I'll join you all – in person," Reeve said through Cait Sith.
"It will be nice to spend time together one last time without all the fighting," Nanaki said, padding through the group.
Vincent, who was leaning against the far wall with his arms folded across his chest and his head hung low, let out a barely audible grunt to indicate he would attend the little gathering.
Cloud, personally, was not looking forward to an immediate celebration. He was aching to be alone with Tifa to finally be able to tell her how sorry he was without being interrupted by a headache, and, if things went well…
Later…
Surprisingly, the members of AVALANCHE mingled pretty well with the Turks after they had returned to Edge. Cid was able to park the airship outside the city without fear that fiends would attack. The world would still have to deal with the excess monsters in the world, but it wouldn't be such a daunting task now that the beasts were no longer aggressive. There were still hordes of them throughout the desert outside Edge, but they were just grazing and fighting each other for territory in a crowded world. They showed no interest in the Highwind and only a few levrikons attempted to fight the group as they trekked back into the city.
After an initial toast to a mission accomplished, the new saviors of the planet slowly dispersed throughout Seventh Heaven. Reeve arrived late, but it had been months since anyone had seen him in person, so his presence was appreciated nonetheless.
Tseng and Elena were talking to Cloud and Tifa. Elena had initiated the conversation, partly to assess where the AVALANCHE members stood in their relationship. Elena began the conversation casually enough, and soon segued into a question about going on a double date with her and Tseng. Cloud looked like any guy being asked on a double date would: Stifled discomfort. Tifa flustered at the suggestion.
"Well, you are a couple again, right?" Elena asked, a little more forcefully than she intended. Tseng elbowed her in the side as subtly as possible.
Cloud and Tifa looked at each other. Cloud hadn't been able to think about anything else since he was freed from the Jenova cells and they escaped the Northern Crater. He knew they would have to ease back into a relationship, but he couldn't let on how difficult that would be for him. All he could do since they got back to the Highwind was stare at Tifa, and when he did that, he couldn't help but picture her naked.
Until Elena's inappropriate question, his mind had wandered in that direction once again, and he was actually happy to be pulled out of those thoughts. He didn't want to think just about that, especially knowing it was unlikely she would be able to jump right back into a relationship with him – physical or otherwise. He was willing to wait until she was comfortable.
And he didn't just miss the physical. He had missed so much the past two months and even more before then. He missed waking up next to her, her cooking, her laugh, building Edge with her, helping her run the bar, even the smallest of errands – he missed it all.
Tifa floundered for a moment, meeting Cloud's gaze as he gave her a hopeful yet questioning look. She bit her lower lip as her heart fluttered a moment.
"We… haven't discussed that yet," she answered timidly.
Elena nodded and made a noise to signal she understood.
Elsewhere, Yuffie had forced her way into Reno and Rude's conversation. The two Turks had been standing away from the others having their own discussion. Well, Reno was talking – mostly conspiracy theories about what everyone else might be saying about them behind their backs – and Rude was standing stoically. God help him, he was listening to every word of his partner's rant.
"So, what are you two conspiring about?" Yuffie asked after sidling up to the two men. Reno shot her a menacing glance.
"None of your business, kid," he told her. She scoffed and put her hands on her hips.
"Don't call me a kid."
"Act like a kid, get called a kid," Reno explained.
"I act young because I am young. What's your excuse, old man?" Yuffie retorted, pointing an accusing finger at Reno.
"Old man? I'm 27," Reno admitted, narrowing his eyes at the young ninja.
"Hmm. A five-year difference…" she trailed off.
"You got somethin' you wanna say to me, brat?"
It was at that moment that whoops and cheers were heard across the room. The three looked in the direction of the sound to see Barret hollering excitedly and giving Cid a pat on the bag so hard it sent the pilot forward a few steps.
"Listen up, everybody!" Barret exclaimed, looking around the room. "Our boy Cid here just informed me he's gonna propose to Shera when he gets home!"
A round of applause and cheers erupted from the other guests. Reno rolled his eyes and clapped almost sarcastically. Vincent didn't move from his position leaning against a wall, as usual. Yuffie jumped up and down, screaming louder than anyone else. Her shrill cries stabbed Reno in the ears like an icepick to the eardrum.
Tifa clapped vigorously along with everyone else from AVALANCHE. She had been so happy to see how much progress Cid had made toward becoming a better man for Shera. The two had really found their stride. Cid's transformation had given Tifa hope for Cloud; hope that she still held onto and that was renewed now that Jenova was destroyed.
But she also feared that without the Jenova cells as an excuse, she and Cloud would both learn that he just simply didn't love her and would leave again. That fear – along with the knowledge that at any moment he could learn about her and Reno – kept her heart sunk into her stomach through much of the festivities. So far Reno had behaved, but how long would that last?
The fear that Cloud would leave again also made her want to spend some time talking with Reno, but she couldn't think of a way to nonchalantly get to him. The truth was the last two months had given her conflicted feelings that only became worse when Cloud returned. The fluttering feeling she felt in her heart when Reno was near hadn't gone away, as she expected it would.
Tifa walked up to Cid to personally congratulate him, with Cloud in tow. The announcement had given Cloud an idea. He wanted to prove to Tifa that he would always be there for her in the future, and what better way than making the commitment he knew she had longed for all these years?
After hugging Cid and telling him she would help anyway he and Shera needed, Tifa instinctively returned to her usual place behind the bar to let people come refill their drinks. A few members of AVALANCHE took her up on the offer and chatted her up a bit about how crazy the fight was, what the next thing to threaten the planet would be, how she must be so happy that Cloud was alright and back. She humored them as she filled their drinks and sipped from her own.
At the end of the bar a pair of aquamarine eyes stared at her. She caught his glance and moved to where he was standing. He was leaning over the bar counter, resting on his elbows, just as if he were waiting to be served on a regular night.
"The usual?" she asked him with that warm smile.
Reno nodded and she turned to pull out his favorite scotch bottle to pour him another drink. She started to pour, watching the amber liquid fall from the bottle into his glass for a moment.
"I wanted to thank you," she said.
"For what?" he asked, taking his drink once she had poured it, making sure his fingers lingered on hers as she had held it steady for the pour.
"For putting me in the pyramid and catching me when I fell from the Lifestream."
"Hey, like Strife said, I missed," he gave her a quick glance with his trademark smirk. "And to the other point, I didn't so much as catch as provide a softer landing."
Tifa giggled and returned the bottle to the shelf. She needed to get away from him before things became obvious. She turned to leave the bar area when his voice halted her.
"Wait," he said, trying to keep his voice low enough so that only she could hear. "We should probably talk."
Tifa shot a nervous glance around the bar and her eyes briefly locked on Cloud's. He had been talking to Cid and Barret but couldn't help but look over at her every so often. He had seen Reno's hand brush against Tifa's but tried not to overthink it. He was just being paranoid – and Reno was a notorious flirt. He could only imagine what Tifa had to put up with from other men while he was gone. She was looking at him with a worried expression, he thought, indicating she was uncomfortable talking to Reno alone. It put Cloud's mind at ease.
"I can't right now," Tifa said in a dejected tone after she turned back to Reno. "I'm sorry."
Before she could notice Reno's sour face, she was walking away, trying to keep a neutral expression to hide her nerves. Without even thinking she started heading in Cloud's direction, but thankfully for her, Yuffie grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away. Cloud noticed the young ninja's actions and felt a little relief wash over him. Surely boy-crazy Yuffie would help push Tifa back to him.
Yuffie dragged Tifa into the back storage room but didn't close the door. Didn't need people to get weird ideas. She spoke in a hushed tone so the others outside the room wouldn't hear.
"So?" she asked her older friend.
"So what?" Tifa asked. Yuffie rolled her eyes and huffed.
"What are you going to do now that Cloud's back?"
"I really don't want to talk about this right now," Tifa replied, turning to leave the room. Yuffie grabbed her arm to stop her.
"You can't just ignore it!" Yuffie exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. "Who are you going to choose?"
Tifa sighed and looked at her feet. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose them both once Cloud finds out."
Yuffie crossed her arms and sighed. "Well, if that doesn't happen, who would you choose?"
"I can't even think about that right now, Yuffie. I'm just trying to get through this day."
Back in the bar, Elena had abandoned Tseng when she saw Reno drinking alone at the end of the bar. Tseng had protested at first, but soon found himself in a fairly interesting conversation with Rude and Vincent. The three men usually spoke very little, but for some reason now that they were together, they had a bit to say.
Elena took a deep breath and sidled up to Reno, taking a seat on the stool next to his.
"You okay?"
"Elena, don't," Reno said, keeping his eyes forward and taking a sip of his scotch.
"Don't what?" she asked, as innocently as she could. Reno turned his upper body toward her and circled his hands in the air between them.
"This," he said. "Don't do this."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Elena said as Reno returned to his drink. For a few minutes they said nothing, each focusing on their own drink and seemingly ignoring the other's presence. "They're not together, you know," she said, copying his movement from earlier and taking a sip of her drink while looking straight forward.
Reno's eyes snapped toward her briefly, but he continued to face forward.
"Don't care," he said.
Elena could sense the slightest change in his posture and voice after she said that. He was trying to act like his old self, but she knew he had changed. Tifa had some kind of an effect on him – some kind of a hold on him Elena had never seen before.
"Your loss," Elena said before standing up and trying to return to Tseng, who at that point was engrossed in a conversation with Vincent about guns.
She then spotted Tifa and Yuffie leaving the storage room – Tifa looked sullen – and decided she didn't get to talk to enough women in her life, so she cut them off at the end of the bar opposite Reno and struck up a conversation.
Reeve, Barret, Cid, and Cloud were discussing Cid's proposal and Cloud's return. Tseng, Rude, and Vincent were still talking amongst themselves. Reno was finishing his current drink, before getting up and joining his fellow male Turks. Nanaki was curled up in the corner, napping. He couldn't exactly drink alcohol, and with everyone else standing on their two legs, it was difficult for him to join any conversation. Sure, people came over to sit near him or lean over and talk, but the truth was he was exhausted and needed an evening snooze. He never fell fully asleep, however, his ears constantly moving, picking up bits of conversation around the bar, never focusing on one conversation in particular.
"Sorry, I need to take out the trash," Tifa said once Elena finished her current sentence.
She was enjoying the girl talk, for sure, as she had never had many girlfriends growing up until she met Jessie. But her guilt and current dilemma kept her from fully enjoying their discussion. Then she noticed the garbage can was overflowing and she decided to empty it and get some fresh air. She crushed the trash down as best she could and tied the bag before pulling it out of the can and walking with it out the back door.
Elena heard the back door close from where she was standing and looked around the room. Reno was no longer sitting at the end of the counter, but she didn't see him with Rude, either.
Outside, Tifa flung the bag of garbage into the dumpster, the sound of breaking beer bottles echoing against the large plastic bin. She threw it in the dumpster with enough force to cause the lid to fall with a booming sound that seemed to ring throughout the alleyway. When she turned back toward the back door of the bar, she found Reno standing just a few feet in front of her, arms folded across his chest. She gasped.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked him, clutching her chest and trying to slow her heartbeat.
"Is it over?" he huffed. He wasn't drunk, but he was sure it looked that way.
"I… I don't know," Tifa said, looking at the ground. "There's so much going on right now."
"Tifa, seriously?" his eyes were harsh and Tifa could swear she saw the Mako in them glowing brightly.
"I don't know what to say right now, Reno, I need time."
"You're just going to run back to him, aren't you?"
"No… I don't know what I'm going to do."
Reno scoffed. He shifted his weight in annoyance and narrowed his eyes. "And where's he going to stay while you figure things out? Cuz' from the look of it he's planning on staying here."
"I didn't really think about that," Tifa responded, her voice gaining a little confidence.
"Cut the crap, Tifa," Reno said, flailing his arms at his sides as his tone turned dark.
"Reno…"
"Tifa."
"I don't know what I want right now…" Tifa was not ready for this conversation. She wanted time to think things over, though she knew that would be impossible. She was sure Cloud would move back in with her and she had no intention of kicking him out while she made up her mind. She knew ignoring the issue wasn't going to fix anything, but right now all she could think to do was give it time.
"Bullshit," Reno said sternly. "Tell me something, if he hadn't come back, would things have continued?"
"I could ask you the same question," she snapped back. "I didn't hear from you for days after you dropped me off at Edge. I assumed you had your fun and you were done with me…"
Reno softened a bit and his eyes widened softly with concern.
"That wasn't… I didn't…" he sounded gloomy, but his expression quickly turned serious. "I wasn't done with you! But then he showed up and it sure looked like you were back with him."
Reno again crossed his arms. "How do I know I wasn't just a rebound while you waited for your hero to come back?"
"I've never, I would never!" Tifa protested. She didn't have enough experience with relationships to have ever had a rebound, let alone consciously look for one.
"When do you think you'll know?" he asked, his expression irritated.
"I don't know, I need to do what's right."
That set him off. He uncrossed his arms and gestured wildly.
"'What's right?' What's right for who, you, or everyone else?" he asked angrily.
Tifa retreated a little, unsure where the outburst was coming from.
"Just what's right."
"What about what you want, Tifa?"
"I don't know what I want, I told you," Tifa didn't raise her voice to match Reno's, hoping he would calm down.
"I think you do, but you've spent your whole life doing what people expect you to do. Have you ever done anything just for yourself?"
"I do things for myself, plenty."
"Yeah right. C'mon Tifa. Everything you do is for other people. You run a bar to help other people forget about their shit lives, you fought with AVALANCHE to save the people of Gaia, and God knows you've been taking care of Spike for years even though he keeps abandoning you."
"He has not!" Tifa was defiant now, with her hands on her hips.
"Tch. He left you for Shinra. Then he left you for that Ancient, and then he left you after she died," Reno scoffed. He hadn't intended to start a fight, but this was probably a long time coming.
"He didn't leave me. He joined Shinra to become strong. He only thought he loved Aeris because of his connection to Zack, and he was struggling with the Jenova cells."
"Do you hear yourself?" Reno was just going for it now. "How much longer are you going to make excuses for him? How long until he leaves again. What'll the excuse be that time, Tifa? Hmm?"
"He's been there for me more than you know," she responded.
"When?" Reno acted curious, but his tone was acidic. "When you were dying in Nibelheim? How about when you were growing up in the slums? When you were about to be executed? When you were shot?"
"He was there in Nibelheim, I just didn't know it. He was held captive by Hojo while I was in the slums, he had Mako poisoning when Shinra tried to execute me, and he was trying to get home when I was shot."
"More excuses."
"I would like to add that Shinra was the cause of all his disappearances. You know, the company you still work for?"
Reno knew he was walking into that one, but he needed to plant the seed in her head. He never wanted to fight with her, especially now that Cloud was back and any negative could cause him to lose Tifa, but he also needed to her to start seeing Cloud for what he was: A flake.
Tifa had her arms at her sides, her hands balled into fists and shaking slightly. She was fighting back angry tears. Reno didn't know what he was talking about. He was simplifying things because he was angry and trying to hurt her, she thought. She wouldn't react the same. She tried to control her breathing and didn't speak for a moment. Her head was bowed, but she lifted it when she was ready to speak, staring at Reno with an expression that, while neutral in appearance, let him know that she was livid just below the surface.
"Reno…" she looked directly into his eyes. "How did you know we were going to the Northern Crater."
Now, Reno had always fancied himself a deceptive guy. He'd taken on alternate personalities and looks in order to gain information, but when caught off guard, he was a terrible liar off the cuff.
"The papers we found in the old basement," he said, absentmindedly scratching the back of his head. "The scientists found something about Jenova's head in the Northern Crater and we were sent to investigate…"
"Bullshit," Tifa mocked his tone from earlier. "Were you spying on me?"
"What? No!" Reno tried to sound as sincere as possible but knew she wouldn't believe him.
"All that time spent with me, yet I didn't know about the Northern Crater until after the last time I saw you," Tifa said accusatorially. "Have you been listening to my conversations? Did you bug my house?"
"Tifa, I…" his face dropped. He couldn't even think of a lie to offer her. Well, this conversation had certainly blown up in his face. He had been hoping to avoid this so he could slip into her home and remove the recording devices before she found out about them.
Her eyes widened and if Reno didn't know any better, he could have sworn he saw flames in her pupils.
"You did! How could you?" Tifa demanded. Reno found his own anger again.
"I tried to stop them! I tried to get them taken out!"
"But you were just doing your job," Tifa said, coldly. It cut him deeply. It was the phrase he had used that pissed her off so much before he won her over. "When did you install them?"
"Tifa…"
"When?!" she yelled. Her heart was beating fast and she could feel nervous butterflies in her stomach. How much of her life had Shinra heard?
"Tifa… I swear to you I tried to stop it and get them removed…"
"When?!" tears had started to fall. His answer made it clear Shinra had heard quite a bit. Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.
"The night I first slept over…" Reno admitted.
Tifa's eyes widened again. She stood before him, her fists shaking and her jaw clenched. When she spoke, it was clear she was forcing herself to sound calm.
"Get out," she said quietly.
"Tifa, wait, no," Reno took a step toward her. "I'll get rid of them. I never wanted to install them in the first place."
He tried to wrap his arms around her but she placed her palms on his chest and pushed him back.
"Get out!" she yelled.
"Tifa!"
"Now!"
He locked eyes with her, trying to apologize through them while she continued to stare daggers back at him. He felt his nostril twitch as his own anger returned. How did this conversation get turned around on him?
"Fine," he said as calmly as possible before spinning on his heel and walking to the back door of the bar.
Tifa could hear him yell "Fuck!" just as he was inside the bar. She turned and kicked the dumpster as hard as she could, leaving a dent. The tears were flowing freely as she slumped to the ground next to the garbage and pulled her knees up to her chin. She certainly felt like a piece of trash. She developed feelings for Reno while Cloud was gone, and now that Cloud was back, she had feelings for both of them. She didn't want to hurt either of them. And now she was pissed at Reno for what he had done and embarrassed about what his fellow Turks and others at Shinra heard on the tapes.
She buried her face against her knees and sobbed, tears falling to the filthy ground where she sat. Maybe this argument was her answer, however. She could only hope Reno wouldn't retaliate by telling Cloud.
Tifa heard the back door to the bar open but she didn't look up to see who it was. She didn't want to see Reno right now, that was for sure. She sensed a figure standing in front of her, casting a shadow over her form. Whoever it was crouched down in front of her.
"Tifa?" a voice asked.
She lifted her head and opened her eyes to look at the source of the voice. A pair of Mako-infused blue eyes stared back at her.