A/N: Rated M for language and sexual content.

Chapter 40:

"So, let me get this straight," Rude said as he stood in Reno's kitchen, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "You call me over here – in the middle of the day – to help you win over the woman that I was in love with?"

Reno shifted uncomfortably from where he sat on his countertop, his legs dangling over the edge and lightly tapping his dishwasher.

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kinda shitty," Reno said, hanging his head in shame. He had been so desperate to find a way to stand out from Cloud that he didn't even consider Rude's feelings in the matter, and now he felt like a complete ass. "I'm sorry, man."

"Relax," Rude said after letting Reno wallow a few minutes. "I'll help, but why didn't you call Elena for this?"

"For this?" Reno scoffed. "Don't you remember the last time she invited us over for her cooking? She thought you could replace sugar with salt because they look the same!"

Rude tilted his head upward at the thought, and a quick hint of a smile graced his lips as he grunted.

"Oh, right."

"Besides, I have her working on something else tomorrow, and didn't you once spend three months training under some master chef to go under cover?" Reno replied.

Rude again grunted to confirm.

"So… what should I cook?" Reno tried to offer his most sincere yet vulnerable smile.

Rude, with one arm still folded across his chest, brought the index finger of his other hand up to his chin to think for a moment.

"Before I give you my suggestion, I need you to do one thing for me," he said, his eyes focused intently on Reno's through dark-tinted glasses.

Reno's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open a little in surprise. Rude was seriously helping him, but also clearly setting a trap. He knew that whatever he would agree to would not be pleasant. On the other hand, having to come up with his own idea on what to cook for Tifa was probably just as unpleasant. At the very least it was inconvenient, as Rude was standing right here and looking up a recipe and figuring it out on his own might require skills he wasn't willing to admit he didn't have. Better to have Rude walk him through it.

Reno let his eyes roll to the side as he scoffed.

"Tch, fine, whatever," Reno said, averting his gaze from Rude's and mimicking the bald man's stance with his arms crossed.

Rude continued to stare at Reno, his eyes penetrating even though they were covered by the glasses. If Reno didn't know any better he would have thought Rude had been frozen in place with some Stop materia. The man really knew how to intimidate. Reno held out as long as he could, looking away from Rude. Unfortunately, that meant he was just staring at the point where the side wall of his kitchen met the half wall of the pass-through. Beyond that, the panoramic window of his living room, but he was at such an angle that he couldn't see anything outside. Having quickly grown bored of the non-view, he finally felt his nose twitch and he knew he had been bested. One could not beat Rude at a staring contest.

Reno sighed and rolled his head to look at Rude.

"I want you to admit that you love her," Rude said at last.

Reno's pupils dilated and what little color he had drained from his face. Admit that!? It wasn't even true, he kept telling himself. He'd never been in love before and damned if he was going to start now. Rude was wrong, this was still just a game… right? He just wanted to beat Cloud Strife for once… and in the most important way.

"Admit what?" Reno feigned confusion.

"Admit you're doing all this because you actually love her, and it's not a game to you anymore," Rude said, having not moved a muscle since his last statement.

"You want me to admit to a lie?"

Rude didn't relent.

"So, you want me to say I'm doing this because I love her?" Reno sounded as if he were mocking every person who had ever been in love, but as he continued to speak, his demeanor changed.

"You want me to say that whenever she's away I can't stop thinking about her?" he continued, his voice already softening.

"That I just want to be near her and hold her…" he started to sound almost nostalgic, like he was recalling the last time he was with her intimately.

"…and help her achieve her hopes and dreams…" a smile began to form at the corners of his lips.

"…and protect her from all that sucks about the world for the rest of our lives?"

He snapped out of his memories. As he spoke, he imagined her smiling at him or giving him one of her "looks" to let him know she wasn't buying his bullshit. He realized by now was grinning like an idiot and shook his head to return to his defensive gaze.

"Well, I'm not doing this for love so I wouldn't be saying any of that shit," he insisted.

"You just did," Rude smirked.

"What? No! I wasn't being serious! I was making fun of every lame lovey-dovey sap out there!" Reno insisted.

One corner of Rude's lips twitched upward. "And now you're one of them," he said.

"Believe what you want," Reno huffed. "So, what are we cookin'?"

Rude sighed. Reno's fake mockery might be as close to an admission as he would get.

"Something surprisingly simple that even you'll be able to make: Rosemary-garlic steak, roasted red potatoes, and baked asparagus," Rude said.

"Oh yeah, that sounds super simple," Reno responded sarcastically.

Rude ignored him and began opening Reno's cupboards and cabinets, looking for cooking supplies. He left the doors open in his wake, leaving Reno to just stare at him, expectantly.

"Uh, what are ya lookin' for?" he asked his partner as Rude was leaning over to inspect the last cabinet.

"Where is your cookware?" the bald man asked.

"I have a frying pan."

"And?"

"A microwave."

Rude shook his head and closed his eyes. It was amazing Reno was still alive and as agile as he was with all his vices and lack of nutrition.

"Let's get going," Rude said after a groan.

"I have to do the shopping, too?"

Rude shot him a glare.

"You need to know how to pick out your own food for when you actually cook this for Tifa," he said, bringing his thumb and index finger back to the bridge of his nose and gently rubbing his skin in frustration. "You might try impressing her by looking like you know what you're doing and talking about."

"Ok, let's get going," Reno said with a sigh as he hopped off the counter and trudged toward the door with Rude in tow.

They returned a while later with all the ingredients and necessary cookware. Reno, despite his earlier objections, actually paid attention at the store, realizing that if he didn't he might disappoint Tifa or worse – make her sick.

"You are now the proud owner of a basic cooking set," Rude said as they returned to Reno's apartment – each with arms overloaded with bags – and heaved their groceries up on the counter.

"Well, great, now I'm starving," Reno complained. "Can't wait to watch you cook and then eat!"

"You're not going to watch me cook," Rude responded. Reno looked at him in disbelief. "You're going to cook at my direction."

"Um, what now?"

"Wash your hands."

Reno let his lower lip hang slightly in confusion. He didn't know the first thing about cooking anything other than what he could make in a frying pan or microwave. And he was especially not keen to have someone standing over his shoulders giving him directions.

Rude, as one might expect, gave simple, basic directions.

"Generously season with salt and pepper."

"Toss potatoes with oil and rosemary."

"Trim asparagus."

"Bake for 30 minutes."

"Sear on high heat."

"Flip."

"Add butter and garlic."

"Now add two sprigs of rosemary."

Rude stood just off to Reno's side in the kitchen with his arms crossed as Reno dashed around at his orders. In the end, if you ignored the small fire in the skillet, Reno cooked a decent, edible meal. The redhead had worked up a sweat and plopped onto his chair as his plate rattled on the table. He had been starving, but all that work took his appetite away for some reason; he now only wanted to eat because he worked so hard at it and felt like he would pass out if he didn't.

Rude sat with his elbows resting on the table and his fingers intertwined in front of his chin, waiting for Reno to eat first. "After you," he said when Reno made it clear he was waiting for Rude to eat.

"Fine, but if I die – it was your instructions," Reno relented.

"No one would ever suspect me."

Reno narrowed his eyes at his partner and picked up his knife and fork to begin cutting into his ribeye. It was a nice reddish pink color in the middle, which he studied as he brought a bit of meat up toward his mouth. He twisted his fork with his fingers for a moment before indulging.

He ended up being surprised at himself.

"Holy shit, this is really good!" he exclaimed.

Rude waited a few more moments to make sure Reno didn't keel over from the food. Satisfied that the meal was safe, he cut off a chunk of steak and tasted it.

"Damn, I'm good," he said.

"Hey! I cooked this!"

"If you did this on your own I would be pulling you out of a burning building right now."

"Yeah, well, thanks anyway."

Rude nodded.

The cleanup process – which Rude helped with, at least – made Reno want to never cook again, but figured all this effort would go a long way toward showing Tifa there could be more to him than booze and murder.

The two men drank a few during and after dinner before Rude decided he had enough and needed to head home. He stopped at Reno's front door and paused before exiting, turning back to his partner to look him square in the eyes.

"You'll never win her over if you don't admit to yourself why you're really doing this," he said.

Reno blinked a few times and stared at Rude for a moment like he had just spoken another language. He didn't understand why Rude and Elena were so desperate for there to be more to his conquest with Tifa. He grunted in annoyance at Rude and clenched his jaw.

"See ya around, partner," was all Reno could think to say before closing the door behind Rude.

"Admit to myself why I'm really doing this?" Reno asked out loud to himself as he turned from the door to walk toward the couch. He sat down and then laid back, placing his hands under his head on the armrest for support.

"Why am I really doing this?" he asked himself, more than a little buzzed from alcohol. "Because I want her. Because she's fuckin' hot," he grinned at the thought of having her again, but it quickly dissipated.

"Because she's not like any woman I've ever met. Because she makes me believe that I can be a better man. Because I want to be a better man – for her."

He sat up quickly as if awaking from an intense dream, his eyes wide and his teeth clenched. He brought one foot onto the couch and bent his knee, lazily resting his elbow on it and letting his arm dangle off, running his other hand through his hair.

"Oh shit."

Meanwhile…

Cloud sat across from Tifa in the conference room of the Highwind, enjoying himself as he watched her trying to act like she wasn't wearing a blindfold. She would look toward the window as if she could see anything more than light filtering in through the fabric, then turn toward the door. Sometimes she would look in Cloud's general direction, but when he would smile or make a face at her she wouldn't respond in kind. It amused him, so he would keep testing the boundaries by making more elaborate faces at her. She always just stared blankly in return.

Once they were in the air for a while – and she had stopped asking where they were going – Cloud turned serious.

"I can't believe that just a few days ago I thought I was going to die," he said.

He wanted this trip to be fun and light, but it had been nagging at him and the only person he wanted to talk to about it was Tifa. She was the only one who truly knew him and the only one who had the ability to get his mind on the right track – usually.

"I know," she said. "I can't believe it either. I thought I was watching you die."

"Well," Cloud said, a weak smile crossing his lips, "at least that wasn't the case."

"I'm glad," Tifa responded, a sad smile appearing on her face.

Before Cloud could say anything else he heard the faint sound of music outside the Highwind – a telltale sign of where they were going. He forgot about that.

"Shit," he quickly launched himself out of his seat and slid across the table to land beside Tifa and cover her ears, as if the damage hadn't already been done.

Tifa quickly perked up and smiled brightly.

"The Gold Saucer!?" she exclaimed even though Cloud's hands were on her ears.

"Well, so much for the surprise," Cloud said, taking his hands off her head and standing up behind her.

"Oh no, I'm still surprised!" Tifa insisted, lifting up her blindfold and running to the window to watch as the Highwind lapped around the top of the magnificent structure.

"I should have brought earplugs," Cloud said.

Tifa turned toward him and gave him a reassuring smile.

"This is perfect!" she said before clasping her hands behind her back, causing her chest to push forward.

"I'm glad," Cloud blushed.

Tifa took a step forward, but stopped when she heard the static of the Highwind's PA system overhead.

"Alright lovebirds, here's your stop," they heard Cid say from the bridge. "Have fun and I'll pick you up tomorrow. Don't be late!"

"Tomorrow?" Tifa asked. Cloud rubbed the back of his head.

"I wanted to recreate our first date, and figured it would be late so I got us each a hotel room – just like back then," he said sheepishly.

"Oh," Tifa said before smiling again. "That's great! Let's go!"

She ran toward Cloud and grabbed him by the arm as she headed for the deck, dragging the blond behind her with little resistance. From outside, they could see the gleaming gold buildings that made up The Gold Saucer, with all the dancing lights that could be seen even though it was still daytime. Tifa looked down to watch a group of chocobo racers run along the track below, the flickering sign of the Ghost Hotel, and the twists and loops of the roller coaster.

It felt like the first time she came here, traveling by the rail car up from North Corel. They didn't even know Cid or Vincent or Cait Sith at that time. She remembered standing at the window next to Aeris, who was just as enthralled as she was with the amusement park. Tifa remembered how excited they both were to explore The Gold Saucer, even though Barret's distress at the time soured the group's mood.

It really had always been her dream to visit The Gold Saucer. She'd heard all about it growing up in Nibelheim. When she was little, her father promised her they would go someday, but then her mom got sick and Tifa forgot all about her dad's promise. For a while after her mom died, she would have dreams about her whole family going to The Gold Saucer, riding on the rides, petting the chocobos, and enjoying all kinds of treats.

Once her father died and she ended up in the slums of Midgar, however, she figured she would never get to visit the amusement park. At that time, she didn't think she'd ever even make it out of the slums.

When she found Cloud at that train station and convinced him to stay with AVALANCHE she thought that maybe the slums wouldn't be so bad after all. And then she left Midgar to chase Sephiroth…

A woman stood at the entrance asking for admission while a man in a fat chocobo suit hopped around near the cables for the tram from North Corel – same as always. Cloud showed her their lifetime pass as Tifa clutched his arm excitedly. They entered the park and stopped in the main room, surrounded by chutes to all the attractions.

"Where do you want to go first?" Cloud asked. Tifa thought for a moment before smiling.

"Well, the show at Event Square isn't until later, so wanna go play some games? Bet I can beat you at snowboarding," she said, grinning.

"You're on," Cloud responded.

Tifa gave Cloud a challenging grin before turning around to rush to the chute that lead to Wonder Square. She gripped the metal bar above the opening and launched herself feet-first down the tube. Cloud stammered a second but quickly jumped down the chute as well. He could hear Tifa's laughter echoing throughout the metal tunnel as he slid along its twists and turns.

Unfortunately, it had been a few years since he had been here, and without the weight of his sword on his back, he misjudged his landing once he exited the tube, losing his footing and falling backwards onto his butt. Tifa giggled and offered him her hand, pulling him up before they walked into the arcade together.

Tifa beat Cloud at snowboarding, even on Crazy mode, but Cloud didn't mind as it meant he got to watch Tifa wiggle her hips to stay balanced. He got her back on G-Bike though, which she maintained wasn't fair because he had real-life practice at it.

"You wanna learn how to ride my bike?" Cloud asked after she pretended to pout at her loss.

Her face immediately changed to a beaming smile and her eyes widened with wonder.

"Do you mean it?" she asked, excitedly. Cloud never let anyone drive Fenrir, and Tifa was the only person that had ever ridden on it with him.

"Well, I'll have to get a new one first, since Fenrir was destroyed."

"Oh, right," Tifa looked down, remembering what Cloud told her had happened to his precious motorbike.

"I'll find a new one soon," he informed her. "Can't help with the bar without wheels."

Tifa's smile returned once more.

"Okay, tie breaker time," she said. "3D Battler?"

"Sure, you can go first."

They tied their scores.

"Super Dunk?" Cloud asked. Tifa agreed with a nod of her head.

Again, they tied, and on Torpedo Attack, too.

"There's nothing else worth playing," Tifa said, her voice light but showing some exhaustion after all the games. "Want to go bet on chocobo races?"

"After you," Cloud said, placing a hand on her back and motioning out of the arcade.

Ester recognized them immediately once they entered the lobby and called out to the couple.

"Are you two here to race? People have been wondering whatever happened to the gold chocobo that used to race here," she said to them.

"Oh, not today, we're just here to watch," Cloud said, wrapping an arm around Tifa's waist and pulling her to him. She responded by resting her hands on his shoulder and smiling.

"That's too bad, I do hope we'll get to see that wonderful chocobo of yours again someday," Ester said. "But in that case, let me show you to our VIP viewing section."

Tifa noticed immediately how open and light the area was, with just a few other couples and groups watching from a more comfortable place than general seating. They were higher in the air and could see much more of the track, while TV screens hanging on the walls showed close-up angles. The other people were dressed in colorful, fancy attire, which instantly made Tifa feel underdressed. She tugged at the hem of her skirt and wrapped her arms around her stomach, embarrassed.

"I don't think anyone would question your style," Cloud reassured her.

It was true. They may not be dressed like the wealthy people around them, but they were still two of the biggest celebrities on the planet. Frankly, it would be odd for them to dress like the usual upper-class citizen.

Tifa smiled at Cloud's comment and stepped up to the guard rail at the front of their viewing box. Teioh wasn't racing today, so she had placed a bet on the red chocobo to win.

Cloud stepped up beside her and watched as the gates were pulled open and the chocobos were released, dashing off along the lengthy course as fast as their two legs would carry them. At the top of the spiral ramp, a purple chocobo led with the red and white ones close behind. These same three kept the lead through the area with giant clams and the rainbow cave, but once they all reached the final stretch made to look like outer space, the red chocobo took the lead and the purple chocobo fell to last place.

"Looks like you picked a winner," Cloud said as Tifa jumped up and down cheering.

"I did!" she had never bet on the races before and decided not to push her luck. "It's about time for the show at Event Square, wanna go?"

Cloud nodded and bent his elbow for Tifa to take, which she did enthusiastically. This somehow felt as magical as that night several years ago, yet even better. Back then, Cloud hadn't been that into anything, but she had been excited just to be alone with him. Now they were actually having fun together, which made it a completely different experience. Cloud seemed back to his old self, before the headaches, when he seemed to have finally found his place in the world – with Tifa.

She smiled as they walked arm-in-arm without a word into the Event Square auditorium. There was a young man checking tickets and pointing people to their seats. When Cloud and Tifa approached him he smiled and spoke up.

"Congratulations!" he said. "You're our 100th' couple today!"

Tifa grinned, hoping to get another chance to act in the play, while Cloud huffed.

"Do we have to be in the show this time?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and looking annoyed. He had enjoyed his date with Tifa here years ago – except that part. Having to try and memorize lines and perform in front of so many people was not an experience he wanted to relive.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," the young man insisted, waving his palms in front of the couple and shaking his head furiously. "We tried that a couple years ago and it was a disaster. Your prize tonight is two tickets to the gondola after the show."

Cloud took the tickets and thanked the man, feeling a lot more relaxed knowing he would only have to watch the play, not participate. He wasn't that into theater, but he knew Tifa had always loved it, so he humored her and tried to pay attention.

Tifa found herself paying extra attention to the stagehands that moved set pieces between scenes. Once upon a time, Jessie had been one of them after getting dropped from the lead role. Tifa shook her head to dismiss the thoughts when the lights came back up and leaned her head on Cloud's shoulder. She was just happy to be here with him and didn't want to let any negative thoughts cloud her mind right now.

They cheered when the show ended and headed to Round Square to ride the gondola. Tifa sat on the seat opposite Cloud, worried that the fireworks and memories would lead her right back into his arms when she was still terrified he would leave again. Even though everything today had been so wonderful, she couldn't help that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it could all be over soon – and she didn't know how to get past that.

Cloud watched her take her seat and tried to hide the disappointed look on his face. Everything so far had gone better than it had years ago, yet now she was sitting away from him like they had back then. When the gondola started to move, Cloud began having flash memories of Tifa the last time they were on the ride, floating through the night as fireworks erupted outside the window, interrupting whatever they might say to each other.

"It's just as pretty as back then," Tifa said, looking out the window and smiling. "Look, Cloud."

"Oh, Cloud… it's really pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," he responded, though he was looking at Tifa with sadness in his eyes that she didn't notice.

"Ok, I'm going to just go ahead and say it…"

He was too focused on finding Sephiroth back then to register how Tifa might have finished that sentence. Now, he wished she would say it again and finish what she started. This whole day had felt like a dream and he didn't want it to end. He felt like he was truly able to be himself now and wanted her to see that. But here she was, looking out the window and lost in thought.

"Tifa…" he didn't have an end to that sentence; he found himself soothed just by saying her name.

"Mmm?" she turned her head from the window to look at him with questioning eyes. In them, Cloud could see tiny sparks of lights reflecting the fireworks outside. He tried to quell the butterflies in his stomach to tell her everything he wanted to say right now. With his heart racing, he crossed over to sit next to her and stare into her eyes. Fireworks wouldn't interrupt them this time.

"I can't believe this is so difficult to say," he began, scratching the back of his head.

"Aeris would be able to just come out and say it, probably."

"I don't know why I'm so nervous, I've known you my whole life."

"Sometimes being old friends is hard."

"Even though we're taking things slow… I want you to know…"

"I mean, timing is everything."

He just stared at her, getting lost in her beauty and losing his nerve. If he said it too soon it might look like he was already expecting her to come back to him after just this date. He knew that even if she did come back now she wouldn't be fully in the relationship until she was sure he was staying, but she wasn't sure now.

"Cloud?" she asked, tilting her head a little.

He opened his mouth again, feeling like he did all those years ago when he was too afraid to talk to her. Not just when they were children and he secretly had a crush on her, but even after they reunited and he wanted to maintain his "cool" façade, mainly to mask the fact that he was still scared to embarrass himself in front of her.

He saw her head bob unnaturally and knew the gondola had stopped back at the station. He had wanted to tell her so many things and yet he chickened out like he did when they were kids. He had even hoped that he might be able to hold her underneath the fireworks. They couldn't have stepped that far back, right?

The door opened and they were forced to exit, though their eyes lingered for a moment first.

"Cloud, today was…" Tifa began, looking up at him and smiling, "… amazing."

"I'm glad," he replied, though he was sure she could sense he wasn't feeling the same way.

"It's pretty late though, we should head back," Tifa said.

Cloud nodded and followed her out of Round Square. They walked in silence into the Ghost Hotel. It had been such a run and romantic day, but this hotel would surely kill the mood, leaving Cloud feeling even more dejected.

They each paused outside the doors to their rooms – which were across the hall – and turned back toward the other.

"Tifa…"

"Cloud…"

They both spoke at the same time.

"You go first," he said, motioning to her with his hand. Tifa chuckled.

"It's just… you wanted to say something back there," she said.

Cloud looked away from her for a moment. Why was this so difficult all of a sudden? God, he was overthinking too much.

He took a step toward her but said nothing. Mentally, he was kicking himself for being such a pansy. This was Tifa. Things may have changed since he left, but she was still his best friend and the last person on Gaia he should be nervous around. He lifted his head, looking like his old confidant self, and took the last few steps toward her, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her tightly.

Tifa was surprised by his actions at first, since he had seemed so timid on the gondola. At first she didn't respond, but soon she placed her hands on his chest and let him hold her like he had the first time they ever embraced – back in the flower garden of Aeris' old house in the Sector 5 slums. That night, she could tell Cloud had never hugged a woman before because he held her so tight she couldn't breathe and his armor dug into her skin.

By now he knew not to squeeze the life out of her, but her heart still felt like it did that night back in Midgar. She eased into his arms and looked up at him. He smiled and lowered his lips to hers. He didn't want to go as far as his hormones wanted, still determined to stick to a slow reunion timeline, but he did find himself pressing her against the wall outside her hotel room. She kissed him back for a few moments before pulling away for the same reason he wasn't pushing her further. It would be too easy to fall back into a relationship and ignore their issues.

She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled at him, a sheen on her lips from their kiss. He took a step back and gave her a quick nod of his head.

"I should get some sleep," she said, not moving. "I'm so glad you thought of this."

"It's good to know that after all these years I can still surprise you," he replied.

"Mmhmm. Goodnight, Cloud," she said before turning to open her door and go inside.

Cloud stood in the hallway a moment to watch her leave before saying, "goodnight, Tifa" so only he could hear it. He turned around to enter his own hotel room and flopped down on his bed, unable to sleep as he replayed the day's events in his head. It couldn't have gone better for him, he thought. Sure, some might think if the date were successful they would have ended up in the same bed, but neither of them were prepared for that right now. Cloud didn't want to push Tifa and Tifa was too afraid to jump back into bed with Cloud so soon after Reno.

As Cloud struggled to sleep, he found himself wishing Tifa would knock on his door to join him, even though it went against the plan. He thought about when he moved out of their room before he left, when the headaches were getting worse. Did she also lie awake at night hoping he would join her?

Tifa closed her hotel room door behind her and leaned against it. It took every fiber of her being to pull away from Cloud and not fall into the familiar like nothing had happened. As happy as she was all day, she now felt like crying from loneliness. She could so easily be back with him but it wouldn't be right – for either of them – right now.

She showered and changed for bed, hoping sleep would come quickly so she could see him again in the morning. Yet she knew that now she would be nervous around him again, just as she had been years ago when Aeris was in the picture. She didn't know where he was psychologically as far as their relationship stood, and she didn't want to cross a line. She also knew she needed to end things with Reno before she started over with Cloud, properly – and she couldn't just ignore the redhead or text him. He deserved better than that.

As she got under the covers she noticed an alert on her phone. She flipped it open to read:

"1 text message from Reno."

"Oh no," she thought. She opened the message and sighed.

"Have dinner with me tomorrow night?" it read.

Her heart sank. She just had an amazing date with Cloud, leading her to believe she made her decision, but a text from Reno complicated things. Agreeing to dinner would give her a chance to tell him goodbye, but it would also mean a date with him after what she just had with Cloud.

She wanted to scream. Was it possible to love two people at once? Her mind was filled with so many emotions and feelings toward these two men. It wasn't like she was getting a kick out of them fighting over her. She wanted to make a decision but they both had their strengths and issues, and even though she felt close to Cloud at this moment, those issues didn't magically disappear in one day.

She didn't want to date two men at once, but at this moment she didn't know what else to do. Every thought contradicted another. She was confused and annoyed and found herself thinking how she had the other day when she was crying in the alley: She wished everything was different.

Sleep. She needed sleep to clear her head. Maybe things would look different in the morning.

A/N: I know the end of this chapter might cause issues in the comments. I tried to show how… jagged… and confusing Tifa's thoughts were at the end of this chapter, because that's what it's like in these situations. Your mind is a mess. Hopefully it came across that way and not in some negative way like some reviewers may see it.