A/N: So, I never thought this story would go on this long. In reality, it should have been longer, since most of the first 16 chapters were shorter than all those that came after.

I love this story and honestly don't want it to end, but I feel the end is near. I've always known how it would end but knowing its close makes me a little sad.

This is the longest story I've ever written – fan fiction or otherwise. There are still at least a few chapters left, but it's getting to be time.

Rated M for language and sexual content.

Chapter 44:

Reno stood hunched over his kitchen counter, his arms folded in front of him on the granite and his face buried in his forearms. In his left hand he held a lit cigarette, angled away from his face. The smoke wove and twisted into the air like the branches of a Wutaian maple tree, doing as it pleased and taunting the man who gave it life.

He had lit up the cigarette as soon as he exited the shower, taking a long drag before strolling into his bedroom to put on a pair of boxers and his suit pants while holding the filter of the cigarette between his lips. He then staggered into the kitchen to make coffee and decided to put his head down while he waited.

He fucked up again. His only consolation was that he brought Cloud down with him, but he would have preferred to remain unscathed. Neither of them could win if they kept pissing her off.

He had nearly drifted off back to sleep when the coffee maker beeped. His eyes snapped open and he realized he smelled coffee and the faint hint of something else… burnt hair! He quickly stood up to discover he singed the tip of one of his spikes with his cigarette. So, that's how today wanted to play, eh?

He finished his smoke and tossed the butt into the kitchen sink as he turned around to pour himself a cup of coffee. Every time he brewed his own, he told himself to get nutmeg and vanilla beans so that it would taste like Tifa's, but every time he left his apartment he'd forget to pick up any.

He bent at the waist and leaned back over his counter, this time propping himself up on his elbows and sipping his beverage. His lean muscles glistened from his shower as his mind turned to the text he had sent her last night. She hadn't answered, but what could she say to that? She wasn't the type to fish for compliments, so he didn't think she'd respond to disagree, nor would she ask him to elaborate.

He was still grousing over the words he had used. "Good God, you're worth it"? He might as well have confessed his feelings for her. That text probably said more than the necklace or even a ring and proposal would have, at least in Reno's mind. Tifa must think she had him wrapped around her little finger, desperate and dependent like an orphaned kitten.

He groaned loudly and set his mug on the counter, wondering what his former self would think of him now, all angsty and remorseful.

What the hell, yo? Why ya mopin' around like Cloud Strife?

"Don't wanna talk about it," Reno said as a cocky, confidant version of himself sat on his kitchen counter, leaning back on his hands casually.

This about a woman?

"So, what if it is?"

Wow, what happened to you? Remember our motto? 'If you're alone, you can't lose anyone.'

"Maybe I don't want that anymore."

Tch. Of course you do. Remember what it's like to lose someone? We'll never go through that again.

"Maybe it was worth it."

No way. Now get off your ass and go bang someone! You look pathetic. What would the underlings think of you seeing you like this? You think Alvis, Ruluf, or Balto would still respect you now? What about Veld? You'd never have been promoted over Rude if you were like this back then.

Reno sighed, knowing the voice in his head was right. But he wasn't used to these feelings and didn't know how to control them. The thought of just going out and picking up some chick made him physically ill.

He was thankfully freed from his thoughts by the buzzing of his phone.

"One text message from Tifa."

Well, at least that brought him out of his melancholy state, though he didn't much like the way his heart or stomach felt right now. He opened the message and a small smile immediately graced his lips.

"Thank you. That's very sweet," she had written.

He let out a brief chortle. Of course that's what she would say. She really wasn't looking for compliments when she told him and Cloud that she wasn't worth their attention the night before. Reno knew it at the time, since she immediately entered the bar without giving them a chance to disagree with her. And then it dawned on him: She really, truly believed she was inadequate.

He blamed Strife for that. She spent all those months chasing Sephiroth and hoping Cloud would notice her – and then his leaving could only make things worse.

Reno wondered now if he could have or should have done more two years ago to show her how much she was valued and desired, but what could he have done? Even if he renounced Shinra, quit, and joined AVALANCHE to fight his former employer while actively pursuing her it wouldn't have mattered since she was so in love with Strife at that time. All the men in the world could have given her what she wanted and needed, and she still would have felt inadequate because of him.

Reno clenched his fists, hating Cloud more at that moment than he ever had before. This was something Tifa would always feel, but Reno decided he would at least try to change that.

He opened his phone again and typed back: "You know me, Sweet's my middle name, doll."

The first Shinra meeting to discuss oil was happening later today in Gongaga, so Tseng had been the Turk sent to ensure the deal was made, meaning Reno had no real supervision today. Sure, Rufus could pick today of all days to leave his own office and slum it on down to the Turks' office for the first time ever – and today would be the most likely day for that – but Reno decided to take his chances. There really wasn't anything to do at the moment, and Reno's meeting with Barret was still a few days away, so he decided to find Tifa and make amends instead.

He returned to his bedroom to grab a white dress shirt and put it on, buttoning only a few middle buttons and leaving the shirt untucked. He'd forgo the jacket since he wasn't on official Turk business and he knew he'd probably work up a sweat where he was going.

He took a look at himself in his full-length mirror as he rolled up his sleeves and smirked before frowning when he noticed the singed hair at the tip of one his flaming red spikes. He gently touched the damage, knowing that probably no one would notice it, even though he knew it was there. He also knew himself well enough to know he'd probably point it out to Tifa. Probably within the first few minutes of seeing her. Probably before he even apologized fully.

He walked back into his kitchen and noticed he had a text message waiting – from Tifa. His spirits instantly lifted.

"I'm not even sure Reno is your real first name," the message said.

She was a shrewd one.

Later…

Tifa had never been this happy to help build the theater, given the frustration she still felt over the night before. She'd had a friendly text conversation with Reno, but it hadn't done enough to quell her anger at him and Cloud for fighting over her. Were they really that immature? She laughed to herself as she traveled the streets of Edge. Yes, they were that immature. They may both be adults, but they were some of the most childish adults she knew. Reno was Reno, and Cloud had been so messed up from Mako and Jenova cells that when she found him at that Sector Seven train station, he had the mind of a 16-year-old. He'd grown up a lot since then, but not completely, it seemed.

She arrived at the theater to discover lights had been installed. There was scaffolding in the audience area near the stage as crews worked to hang overhead stage lights. Since electricity wasn't her thing – especially having been electrocuted so much during her adventuring days, not all thanks to Reno – she passed the auditorium to help backstage.

The woman who had helped her sew curtains the other day ran up to her, smiling brightly.

"Tifa! Your friend has been a Godsend!" she exclaimed as she approached the bartender.

Tifa just looked at her with confusion. "Friend?"

"Yeah, you know. Spikey hair, hot as hell?" the woman added, motioning with her hands above her head to indicate hair spikes.

Given the men Tifa knew, however, that didn't exactly narrow it down much. Another worker approached the two women. He also seemed excited.

"Oh, he's been great. We had him sawing boards when he overheard a couple guys complaining about the power cables not working," the man said. "He unscrewed the caps and said the hot and cold wires were crossed. He taught us how to fix 'em, and then installed all the house lights. Dude's been here an hour."

Rather than ask for a specific hair color, she decided to find out for herself which of the men chasing her affections had decided to win her over by helping build the theater. She gave the builders a "hmm" and turned to walk into the auditorium. She couldn't see who was at the top of the scaffolding due to some of the lamps obstructing her view, so she jumped off the stage and walked toward it.

Just as she approached, she hopped back when someone swung down from above. She quickly found herself face-to-face with an upside-down Reno, who was hanging with his legs secured in the guard rails up above. She gave him a knowing glance and tilted her head.

"Hey babe, nice of you to come help," he said, folding his arms across his chest as he continued to hang.

"Should have known it was you when they mentioned electricity," she said, placing her hands on her hips as he grinned. "I had no idea you knew anything beyond your mag rod and thunder spells."

"Hey, you've seen how good I am with my mag rod. I built her myself," he said proudly, jabbing a thumb toward his chest. Tifa blushed and pursed her lips.

"Well, that explains a few things," she said slyly.

"Actually, that was a fluke, but I should patent the thing, ya think?" Reno's grin widened, though from Tifa's angle it looked like a frown.

She rolled her eyes.

"Would you come down from there?" she asked, trying to keep her eyes focused on his.

She kept glancing up, as the fabric of his pants had pinched between his legs and railing, causing them to slip down (or up, depending on whose view) below his hip bones, revealing his Adonis Belt and happy trail. Tifa thought she noticed a few red, curly hairs just above his belt buckle, causing heat to pool in her loins. His shirttails had succumbed to gravity, and if Reno didn't have his arms crossed, his entire torso would have been exposed, given the lack of buttoning on his dress shirt. The front ends of his shirt draped over his elbows and he continued to casually hang from the scaffolding as if it were perfectly normal.

Tifa felt an extreme urge to run her fingers over the lines of his toned abdominal muscles, since they were on such clear display before her. No, she told herself, she was still mad at him for his behavior the night before. His charms and sexual attraction wouldn't get him out of this one.

"Why don't you come up?" he asked her with a wink. She huffed.

"Reno," she said sternly, indicating she was not messing around.

"Okay, okay," Reno replied, the smirk briefly leaving his lips. "Just one thing, though."

Tifa didn't even have time to look confused before Reno reached out and grabbed her shoulders to pull her into a kiss. It was unlike anything she had experienced, given he was upside down. It was a little awkward, but she allowed his wanting tongue to enter her mouth for just a moment before she pulled back.

"Kissing while upside down? Seems pretty cliché," she teased.

"Hey, unlike you, I've never been to outer space and I've always wondered what it would be like to bang without gravity," Reno let his arms hang toward the floor as he swung gently, his shirt falling up to his chin and fully exposing his torso.

"Well, I may have gone into space, but I did not 'bang' while I was up there," Tifa countered, providing air quotes for emphasis.

Reno grinned again. At least now he knew Strife hadn't gotten to experience Tifa outside of the planet's orbit. "Ah, you missed out, then," he said.

"What happened here?" she asked, bringing a finger to the barely noticeable damaged spike of hair from earlier. Damn, she was perceptive. She was clearly changing the subject, but he was surprised she had noticed – and that he hadn't pointed it out already. He had hoped being upside down would make it somehow less noticeable.

"Cigarette mishap," he admitted with innocent eyes that darted around the room. Tifa snickered.

Before she said another word, he tightened his core and crunched up to grab the guard rail with his hands, placing them on either side of his knees. He then pushed his knees forward off the railing and let go to flip before landing on his feet with his back to Tifa. It reminded the bartender of her school days in Nibelheim, when she and her friends used to flip off the monkey bars in the same manner.

"Okay, let me have it," he said to her once he turned around. "I'm a jackass – and an idiot. I lost control and attacked Strife when I'm not some hotheaded teenager anymore. I'm a hotheaded man."

"What were you thinking?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips again and scowling.

"I was thinking…" Reno thought for a moment, "… I wasn't thinking."

He thought he was about to tell her that he had been thinking at the time what it would be like to lose her and that he saw Strife as the one taking her away. He didn't want that. He reacted the same way he would have if a monster had her pinned and was about to slash her. He knew the situations weren't similar, but his reactions to them would be.

"Don't let it happen again," Tifa said in a scolding tone and raising her index finger between them.

"I won't," he said through a devilish grin.

He was sincere, but he couldn't let it show. And besides, if chocobo head attacked him he'd defend himself, though he doubted the situation would come up again.

Tifa narrowed her eyes to give him a probing look before turning to sashay back behind the stage to continue her own work. Reno watched her walk away with a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey, you just standin' around now?" another worker called to him from across the auditorium.

Reno acknowledged the man and climbed back up the scaffolding to fiddle with a spotlight.

Meanwhile…

… A sealed up secret… wish… Tender memories… no one can ever know…

Cloud remembered thinking those words after he woke up from what he would later learn was a mako-induced coma. The first person he saw was the only person he wanted to see: Tifa. She looked a little sick, like how Zack looked in the early days of Hojo's experiments after receiving one of the professor's shots. But Tifa's smiling face had never looked more beautiful than at that very moment.

He didn't remember falling into the Lifestream. The last thing he had remembered was being at the Northern Crater. Tifa and everyone else was there. He gave Nanaki the Black Materia and then… nothing. The next thing he saw was Tifa smiling at him, with palm trees around them and the smell of swamp and mako.

He figured everything in between – talking with Tifa and figuring out that he had never been a SOLDIER, that Zack went to Nibelheim five years earlier and Cloud was just a grunt, admitting to Tifa he joined SOLDIER to impress her – must have been a coma dream.

When they were back on the Highwind and Cloud explained everything to AVALANCHE, Tifa said: "You're sure messed up, Cloud!" He knew she was joking, but she had never made a joke like that to him, and it made him think she hadn't actually been there in his mind helping him discover who he really was. He had wanted to tell her the part about having a childhood crush on her, but with everyone present he lost his nerve.

It wasn't until they were alone underneath the Highwind and she mentioned the Lifestream that he realized it had been real.

And now he was losing her.

Cloud was sitting at the desk in his hotel room, writing down his thoughts on the notepad that came with the room. He wasn't someone who journaled his thoughts or kept a diary, but since he couldn't talk to Tifa about what was going on with her, and he didn't feel comfortable talking to anyone else, he decided to just write down what he was thinking so that it wouldn't eat at him and send him into an angsty spiral like before.

Yesterday had gone so well, he thought, until that damned Turk screwed things up in the alley. He wanted to recreate the good parts of the day, so when he was finished writing (and tearing up the pages, running them under water, mashing them into a ball, and throwing them away), he left his hotel room, returning to the man who had given him Fenrir years earlier.

Luck must have been on Cloud's side that day, because the man appeared to be finishing up another souped-up work of art and machinery. It was not black and gold like Fenrir, but instead red and silver with black trim. He took one look at the red metal and thought of Tifa's damaged truck. Candy apple red. Just like the Shinra Hauler SA-40 he bought for Tifa. Cloud loved the bike before he even approached the man, who was squatting down on the other side of it tinkering with the gears.

The blond warrior let out an elongated whistle of approval and desire, startling the mechanic. The man, who was wearing grease-stained coveralls and who had messy dark hair, stood up, wiping his hands with a rag.

"Oh, Cloud!" the man said. "It's good to see you again. Hadn't seen ya in Seventh Heaven for a while, had gotten worried. Tifa just said you were out of town gettin' supplies."

Good ol' Tifa. She never let her customers see her pain.

"I got back pretty recently, but…" Cloud trailed off. How could he tell this man that his beautiful creation had been destroyed? How could Cloud ask for another after destroying the last?

"Where's Fenrir?"

Cloud scratched the back of his head. "About that…"

"I see," the man replied, crossing his arms. "Well, I'm sure if you brought her to me I could get 'er fixed up for ya."

Cloud looked at his feet. "I don't think even you could undo an explosion."

"Oh, damn. At least you survived, right?"

Cloud let out a breath of air. "Heh, I guess."

"You see my newest creation?" the man said, motioning with his left arm back toward the new bike. It looked similar to Fenrir in size, with minor changes to the exhaust pipes in the back and the detailing. "I call this one Skoll."

"Beautiful," Cloud said, just now realizing how much he missed having so much power between his legs.

"I know that look. Sorry to tell ya, I already got free service for life at Seventh Heaven for Fenrir."

"How about gil?"

The man seemed to think for a moment. "I don't know," he said with a finger stroking his chin. "I'd have to spend the next couple years building another bike, and these materials ain't cheap."

"200,000 gil."

"300,000."

"250."

"Done," the man stepped forward to shake Cloud's hand. "You're in luck, I just installed the weapon compartments. There's also a back seat on this one, in case you've decided not to go it alone this time."

Cloud looked back at the bike. He saw himself riding it, just as he had driven Fenrir, before Tifa appeared on the back seat, straddling the machine with her arms wrapped tightly around Cloud's waist and her chest pressed against his back. He got excited just imagining her skirt hiked up as she sat behind him, the vibration of the motor making her wet before they'd return to Seventh Heaven and fuck.

"I have," Cloud said, smiling. He reached into his back pocket to retrieve a large stack of gil to hand to the mechanic.

"That's good to hear," the man said, counting his money. "Try not to destroy this one. One of these days, I'd like to own one of these, ya know?"

"I think my days of danger are over," Cloud said with a laugh.

The mechanic didn't seem to notice, recounting the stack of gil in his hand before handing Cloud the keys. Cloud approached the bike and slowly ran his hands over the smooth, curved metal body. He wanted to savor the moment. Fenrir was gone, and Cloud still missed the bike as if it were a member of the family, but he couldn't help Tifa with supplies just by walking, at least not with bigger orders. Flashes of Fenrir's fiery death crossed his mind – the crash, the wheels shredding his skin, the explosion in the Sleeping Forest. Not again. Skoll would never be in that position, especially not with Tifa as his companion.

Cloud threw his leg over the bike and eased himself onto the seat. It felt cushier than Fenrir, comfortable enough for long trips across continents to visit friends or go on vacation. He inserted the keys and turned on the ignition, feeling the engine roar to life as he twisted a handle. It felt so good to be back on a bike, the vibration of the machine, the sound of the engine, the smell of that raw power. With a nod to the mechanic, he pressed the gas pedal and sped off toward Old Midgar.

Later…

Tifa returned to Seventh Heaven a little worn out from the theater. She was happy though, that so much progress had been made on the theater and that it may soon start production on its first show.

Before Tifa even opened her front door, she heard sounds coming from the garage. She knew immediately she was probably not being robbed in broad daylight – no one in Edge was that stupid or desperate – and she assumed it couldn't be Reno since she had just left him at the theater.

She walked through the bar to the garage door and opened it to find Cloud shaping a large scrap of metal. The garage door was open, and she could see what looked like a repainted Fenrir out in the short driveway. She waited until Cloud wasn't operating something dangerous before making her presence known.

He turned around and lifted his safety goggles to look at her. She could tell he was excited to tell her about the new bike but was holding back because of what happened the night before. She leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms, knowing he would say something about his fight with Reno without her asking.

"How's the theater?" he asked, surprising her a little.

"I didn't know you knew about that," Tifa replied, lifting her gaze. Cloud scratched the back of his head briefly.

"Yeah, I know you've been helping build it for a while," he said, his voice sounding almost embarrassed. "I know you probably think I was ignoring you when my headaches got worse, but I actually listened to everything you were saying."

"Really?" Tifa asked, her face brightening slightly as she skeptically considered what he had said. Cloud nodded before his expression dropped.

"Tifa, I… I'm sorry," he said sullenly. "I should have handled last night better. He just got under my skin and I couldn't stand the thought of you being with him."

"I know, Cloud," Tifa said with heavy lids and a frown.

She understood where he was coming from, and she knew he didn't intend to make her feel bad for ever being with Reno, but his words had stung a little. She looked toward the wall away from him with a blank expression on her face until Cloud closed the gap between them, placing his hands on her arms and causing her to look him in the eye.

"Tifa, I told you, I never want to hurt you again," he moved his hands gently up and down her biceps as she continued to stare at him, her face expressionless except for a sadness in her eyes that he could detect easily.

She offered him a weak smile in return. He smiled a little brighter than she did, hoping to get her to offer him a genuine smile. When she didn't, he leaned in to kiss her gently and clasp his hands behind her back. He pulled away just a little, tilting his head forward so that his forehead rested against hers and the tips of their noses touched.

"I know you won't, Cloud," she said, a soft smile spreading across her lips as her eyes sparkled.

They remained like that for a moment before Cloud broke the silence.

"Wanna see my new bike?" Cloud said behind a roguish grin.

Tifa smiled wider, too. She had almost forgotten about the beautiful new bike sitting in their driveway. She nodded her head and their noses rubbed together tenderly. Cloud took her by the wrist and led her out of the garage to his new bike. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open as she took in the shiny paint job and chrome.

"It's gorgeous!" she said, clasping her hands in front of her chest and skipping over to it. She hovered her hand over the front plate but turned back to look at Cloud to see if it was okay. He nodded, and she caressed the body of the motorbike with her delicate fingers. Cloud stood a few feet back with his arms crossed, just watching her enjoy the bike.

"Wanna go for a ride?" he asked when she turned toward him again to smile in approval. If it was possible, her eyes got even wider with excitement.

"Uh, yes!" she said with a little hop.

Cloud walked over and again mounted the bike. His earlier fantasy was coming true, at least part of it. Tifa swung her leg over the back of the bike and had to jump slightly to get on. Too nervous to cross anymore boundaries, she placed her hands on Cloud's shoulder blades, unaware of the heat rising in his chest and the twitch in his pants. He reached back to find Tifa's arms and pull them around his waist. He could feel her hips pressed against him and knew her skirt must have hiked up, meaning her panties were touching the seat of his pants.

He had to take a deep breath to calm his hormones before slowly pulling the bike out of the driveway and onto the street, turning left so they could go out of the city onto the open roads.

Tifa held onto Cloud tightly around his waist so that her chest was pressed into his back. She leaned her cheek to rest on his upper back, feeling the material of his SOLDIER uniform beneath her skin. She had only been on Fenrir a couple times since there wasn't a real back seat. She had to share the seat with Cloud, and while she certainly didn't mind being so close to him, it was just a tad uncomfortable. The vibration and closeness would cause a bit too much friction and she'd found herself feeling a bit stiff and raw after one of the few rides she was able to take with Cloud.

This new bike was much better in that regard. Now she could enjoy the vibration between her thighs and the sensation of the bike beneath her – not to mention she wasn't being forced to painfully grind against Cloud's pants. It was a more soothing grind, but she worried he could sense what she was going through and get distracted. That wouldn't have been a problem back before he left, but now she had to push those ideas out of her head until she had let either Cloud or Reno go. She only hoped she hadn't gotten so wet that he could feel it.

Cloud opened Skoll up once they were outside of Edge, pushing the bike to its limits as they dashed through the desert and around the city. He could hear Tifa screaming behind him – sometimes out of joy; sometimes out of fear – and he loved it. She had been in so much danger in her life, yet she still managed to get scared when they reached full speed or when he took a corner at a high speed and the bike tilted dangerously.

She watched as the desert and city blurred past her – a sea of coppers and grays. She held onto Cloud tight even when he slowed down to return to the city. They pulled up into the garage next to Seventh Heaven and Tifa dismounted before adjusting her skirt as Cloud swung his leg back over Skoll to stand up next to her. He approached her with that gentle smile he had when he was truly unburdened and happy. It was her favorite smile of his.

"Think you'd wanna drive some day?" he asked. Tifa glanced at the bike and looked just a tad scared.

"Oh, I don't know, it might be too much bike for me," she responded.

"Eh," Cloud said, waving his hand at her dismissively. "You can handle it."

"Ok then, professor, you can start teaching me," she said with a cocky grin.

"I'll try to be as patient with you as you were with me in the slums," Cloud teased.

"Oh? Got some lessons for life on the road?"

"Some. Lesson one: Always make sure you're rested."

Tifa beamed.

"You still remember," she said.

"Like I said, I was listening."

"Good to know," she said with a soft smile. "Want to help me get the bar ready to open?"

"It'd be an honor," Cloud said with a nod while placing his hand over his heart in an exaggerated gesture.

Tifa rolled her eyes while maintaining her grin and motioned for him to follow her inside.

As they were removing the chairs off the tables and flipping them around, Cloud suddenly blurted out: "Cactuars."

"What about them?" Tifa asked as she lifted another upside-down chair from a table and flipped it over to set it down on its legs.

"The answer to your questions," Cloud said as if Tifa had just asked him something. She started thinking she must have asked him something earlier or on the bike that she had completely forgotten about.

"Excuse me?" she asked, having racked her brain to remember what she may have asked. Cloud chuckled as she flustered.

"You asked me months ago what fiend I thought would win in a race and which one I would want as a pet," he said simply. "The answer to both is cactuars."

Tifa closed her eyes and shook her head briefly, genuinely surprised that he remembered things she had said when he seemed to be pulling away.

"You really were listening…" she said, though the words nearly broke her heart all over again. He was listening, he just wasn't responding. She didn't want to ruin the moment, so she decided to let it go. "Why cactuars?"

"Do you remember fighting them on the island?" Cloud asked, nostalgic. "I could barely swipe one of those little bastards. They kept running off or twisting away."

Tifa leaned her head back and laughed.

"Yeah, they were a pain," she replied. "Still, you think they're faster than a bandersnatch or a formula?"

"I do, and I'd be willing to bet gil on one if there was a race," Cloud said confidently.

Tifa walked over to the bar and thought for a moment, bringing a finger to her chin.

"Why would you want one as a pet?" she asked. "I always thought they were cute, but do you also remember what happened after we fought them? You, me, and Yuffie sitting in a circle pulling needles out of each other's backs?"

Cloud looked to the ceiling as he thought back to that night.

"I remember it was the first time your hands were all over my back," he said suggestively.

Tifa laughed.

"… again, as I pulled needles out of your skin like some horrible reverse acupuncture," she said. "And I'm glad it was so pleasant for you. You were helping Yuffie and she was grabbing them out of my back five at a time and quickly. It was really painful."

"If we had one as a pet, I'd pull the needles out of your back," Cloud offered with mocking sincerity.

"Heh, I'm sure you would."

"It's how we work," Cloud continued with a grin. "I protect you and you take care of me. Remember who had the fewest amount of needles on their chest? You're welcome."

It was true, Cloud had always been especially protective of Tifa during their adventures. He often leapt in front of her with his sword to block the needle attacks, resulting in a few more from him and a lot fewer for her.

She smiled fondly at the memory, though she remembered how painful it was to remove the needles.

"Thank you," she chuckled as she walked to the door to flip on the "open" sign.

"So, no blue dress tonight, either?" Cloud asked, only half joking.

Tifa gave him a knowing look and lifted her index finger to the air. Cloud knew what that meant: Don't push it. Though she was smiling...

A little while later…

Cloud helped Tifa run the bar just like he used to when they lived together. He bussed tables, took orders, delivered drinks, and made sure no one got too rowdy. His hearing had also apparently become more sensitive to lewd remarks being made about Tifa. As soon as he heard a patron making any rude, suggestive comment about her looks, Cloud would simply appear near them, intimidating them into stopping their conversation without them completely being sure he had heard what they said.

Cloud had always hated that part of the job. Tifa was the most gorgeous woman in the world, in his opinion, and he always knew he had to accept that she would be ogled by seedy men, but it didn't mean he liked it. The worst part was that he almost always agreed with the men and would steal a glance at whatever part of Tifa's anatomy the degenerates were discussing. Until recently, only Cloud had been able act on whatever perverted thought popped into his mind regarding Tifa. He was the only one who had ever been able to act on those thoughts.

Now he had to share that distinction with Reno.

"Cloud!" Tifa said with astonished concern before he realized that he had just crushed a glass tumbler in his hand while thinking about what Reno had done to her.

He said nothing, just stared at his open palm as blood began seeping from a few glass cuts. Tifa rushed over with a clean towel and a broom with a dustpan. The dutiful caretaker made sure to press the towel to Cloud's palm in order to stop the bleeding before quickly crouching down to sweep up the glass so no customers would get hurt.

After she dumped the shards in the garbage can and put away the broom, she washed her hands and grabbed her first aid kit. Cloud had continued to press his uninjured hand onto the towel as Tifa had demonstrated (she didn't have to, but it came instinctually to her) to clot the blood. The barmaid returned to Cloud and set the kit on the edge of the bar before retrieving a roll of gauze. She cast a low-level cure spell on Cloud to seal the wound, applied some antiseptic, and wrapped his palm gently in the gauze, making sure his fingers weren't restricted.

"Thank you," Cloud said softly.

"What happened?" Tifa asked.

"Just a klutz, I guess," Cloud lied.

He mentally kicked himself for not telling her what he was really thinking about, but knew it was an awful thought that would just start a fight and he didn't want that. Besides, it was something he had to get over. He couldn't change the past – God did he know that – so he just had to get over the fact that another man, a Turk, had touched Tifa. He knew most people in the world date others before settling down, but he and Tifa had always been different. Though, he guessed, not so different. The part of him that clung to Zack had developed feelings for Aeris, and he knew that even before their journey to fight Sephiroth that Tifa had suffered at the hands of a few men in the slums. And it wasn't like no woman had ever come on to him before.

Maybe if he thought about it like that, he could put it into perspective. He had no right to decide who she could and could not date – and to be honest he still didn't know for sure what happened between her and Reno, even though his mind raced with possibilities – and had to remember that he had left her. He couldn't expect her to cry her eyes out and wait for him forever.

Tifa smiled at him with just a hint of disbelief in her eyes after his response. He wasn't a klutz, everyone knew that, but she seemed to accept what he said and return to her work.

Cloud watched her move gracefully behind the bar for a few moments. Tomorrow they would travel to Rocket Town for Cid's engagement party, and Cloud hoped the day would remind Tifa about the commitment she had always wanted.

For Tifa, she was more confused than ever. She knew Cloud had lied about why he accidentally broke the glass. She figured he had thought about Reno and hadn't realized he was holding it too tightly. She didn't mind the lie, since she understood why he would tell it.

But every time she saw one of these two men she found herself lost. When she was with Reno she was excited and tingly and a little scared about the future. When she was with him, she didn't want to leave him and thought about choosing him. When she was with Cloud, she felt warm and protected and comfortable, pleasantly lost in the familiar. With Cloud, she had a lifetime of history that made her think how much she should be with him.

She was thankfully awakened from her thoughts by a patron at the bar calling for a refill.

End notes: I reread this story and found that Cloud wasn't as much fun since he survived Jenova as he had been in previous flashbacks, so I set to rectify that in this chapter. Reno is a joy to write, but Cloud always had a silly, sexy side, too (remember "next to you, who wouldn't"?) I wanted to bring that back.