Diamonds and Rust
There were good days, and then there were bad days.
For Cloud, the good days had finally begun to outweigh the bad. It took a lot of reflection, some soul-searching, some acceptance, and a little encouragement from those around him who cared about him, but in the end, he'd been able to finally make peace with the past. The cleansing of the star-sickness from his blood had helped him to move on from the guilt he'd been carrying, as it soon became apparent that Geostigma not only pushed one physically towards death, but emotionally as well. But even more than that, the forgiveness Cloud found in his friends - both those now gone and those still at his side - had helped him to clear his conscience of the sins of his past.
So it pained him when Tifa was having a bad day.
It had been a number of weeks since the Geostigma crisis had been averted and things had mostly gone back to normal around the world and in Edge in particular. Their friends left the city to go back to their day-to-day, while Cloud and Tifa settled back into the routines of work and domestic life they'd enjoyed before things at home began to fracture. Marlene took up full-time residence with Barret again, and so their home consisted of the two of them and Denzel, the family they had both always wanted in every sense of the word.
Still, as things returned to normal, Cloud didn't miss the lingering after-effects, the tiny signs that warned that in some ways, the past still clung. While his mind had mostly been freed of it, he began to realize that Tifa's hadn't necessarily.
And it was beginning to worry him.
At first, their mutual happiness at the cleansing they'd both felt after the fall of healing rain in the church had sustained them as they put the pieces back together. A honeymoon phase erupted - Cloud found that he and Tifa couldn't stay away from each other, those days of separation and loneliness erupting into a rekindling of passion and connection that they were both badly in need of.
But even so, Cloud noticed that Tifa still locked things away. While he was learning how to let go of the barriers he'd put up so long ago to protect himself, she was still at times struggling with her own. He'd noticed it in small warning signs, like the ways that she'd deflect from certain conversations or how she would brush past his concerns whenever he would find her lost in her thoughts. And he particularly noticed it in the way that she threw herself into her work, rising early and closing late, pushing herself to the limit in the way that she cared for him and their family and everyone else but herself.
Tifa was selfless. She was kind and forgiving to a fault. But these things were perhaps also her greatest flaws, because as much as she gave to others, she often took away from herself.
And with the weather fading into winter and the days shortening, the sun slipping away from an already dreary and weary-eyed city like Edge, Cloud was beginning to notice more and more how much it was taking out of Tifa, how the bad days were beginning to outweigh the good ones.
And today had been a bad day. A very, very bad day.
It was a rare day when he had finished his deliveries for the day earlier than planned - his routes had all been on the Northwest of the Eastern Continent, keeping him close to the highways that connected to Edge. It was a Saturday and there was very little traffic on the roads, allowing him to burn rubber as he zipped Fenrir between villages and towns, making his drop-offs.
Normally, if Cloud finished deliveries ahead of schedule, he would take a few monster kill jobs to earn some extra gil before heading home. Not only did it never hurt to have a little supplemental cash to bring home to their family coffers, but he still found the adrenaline rush of battle mildly cathartic. But lately, especially since he'd been healed and things had begun to get back to normal at home, he found himself much preferring to spend the extra time he had at home with his family. Glancing at his PHS, Cloud realized he could be home early enough to help Tifa with the lunch and dinner rushes.
And so he wasn't prepared to pull up to Seventh Heaven in the middle of the afternoon and to find it shuttered, the Sorry, We're Closed sign turned outward towards the street and the interior lights dimmed, a few disappointed patrons pulling at the doors and muttering to themselves before shaking their heads and moving on.
Pulling Fenrir into the garage attached to the side of the building, Cloud furrowed his brow and tried not to let his mind run through all of the worst-case scenarios for why Tifa might have the bar closed in the middle of the day. Surely there was a reasonable explanation. She probably had to step out to make a quick run for supplies.
Killing his bike's engine, Cloud hopped off of Fenrir's and did his best to maintain a sense of internal calm as he left the garage and entered Seventh Heaven through its side door. As he suspected from the outside, the interior dining area was quiet and dark, the shades even pulled down, preventing any sunlight from getting in. The stark, lemon-fresh scent of a powerfully astringent cleaner lingered in the air, suggesting that Tifa had not long ago been in the midst of disinfecting the place as she normally did prior to opening. But other than that, the place was quiet and still, the bar and countertop untouched and no sign of the hostess who ran it.
Frowning again, Cloud was reaching into his pocket for his PHS to call Tifa when his over-sensitized sense of hearing picked up the faint sound of soft whimpers from somewhere in the anterior of the building. A chill enveloped his heart, and Cloud narrowed his eyes as his head whipped around to the back hallway that led to the stairs and the storage rooms. Concentrating, the whimpers cascaded into high-pitched sobs, a sound that Cloud had over the years become all too familiar with.
Tifa.
His feet carrying him before his mind completed its next thought, Cloud stalked his way through the bar, heading straight to the rear stockroom. The door was cracked, letting a faint sliver of dim light from within leak out across the floor. The sound of Tifa's weepy cries grew as he neared, and with his heart thundering and tight in his chest, he pushed open the door, his head whipping back and forth as he looked for her in a mild panic.
He found her sitting on the floor against a stack of liquor crates, her legs folded under her and her hands covering her face. She was crouched over her knees, midnight sweeps of her silky hair spilling over her shoulders and into her eyes. Her shoulders wracked up and down with every sob, her body shuddering. Tears spilled through the gaps of her fingers, and the sight of it ripped Cloud's heart to shreds.
He hated seeing Tifa cry.
Instinctually, he leaped forward and fell to his knees in front of her, tentatively reaching out for her upper arms to try and gently calm her. She hadn't even noticed his entry or his approach she was so consumed by her wallowing emotions, but when she felt his gloved hands fall on the bare flesh of her arms, she gasped and looked up at him.
"Tifa?" Cloud choked out worriedly.
She sniffled, anxiously wiping at her eyes with the backs of her hands. Seeing the wild concern on his face, Tifa attempted to look away. He could see the embarrassment on her face that she'd been caught in such a broken and vulnerable state.
Tifa was always so put together. Always carrying the burdens of others and always steady on her feet so that others could be allowed to fall. It was rare for her to fall apart like this, and he knew that she hated it.
But it didn't matter to him. He was the only one who could see her like this, and he would always cherish and protect her.
She shook her head furiously in response, then tried to push up to her feet, anxious to get away from him. But her knees were shaky and weak and Cloud was faster than she was, leaning forward and steadying her, stopping her before she could get anywhere.
"Hey," he stopped her, trying to get her to look him in the eyes.
Tifa paused with another sniffle, glancing up at him. Her eyes were puffy and red, streaks of tears lining the pale curves of her cheeks. Even her nose was bright from crying. His chest tightening again, Cloud reached up with both hands and gently wiped her cheeks clean with his thumbs.
"I'm sorry," she began to blubber, "I don't know what - "
"Shhh," Cloud shushed her gently, looping his arms around her and drawing her in. She fell forward, leaning against him with her forehead tipping into the crook of his neck. The instant he held her in close to his body, her cries started up again, and he rocked her gently and rubbed her back, silently giving her the space to let it all out while his mind tried to sort through what was truly wrong and how he could be of any help.
He wasn't sure how long they sat there on the floor together before Tifa finally began to quiet and still, her breathing evening out in drawn-out sighs. His heart still racing somewhat, he pulled back from her slightly, leveling his gaze with hers again in an attempt to read her.
"You okay?" he asked softly, knowing that she truly wasn't. "You can talk to me, Tifa."
Her lashes fluttered as she shook her head. Cloud could see that once again, Tifa was summoning reverses of strength that he was beginning to worry had become almost irrevocably depleted. His concern for her only heightened, his blood heating as his thoughts raced.
"I…" she shook her head even more furiously. "I don't know what it is sometimes, Cloud. I think everything is fine, but then I'll just be working, or trying to read, or watching the news… and I'll burst into tears. Or my heart will start to race, and I'll feel like I can't breathe. And then I'm thinking about everything that's happened again, and how I could've…"
She trailed off, her hands balling up into fists in her lap. Without her even finishing her sentence, Cloud knew where her thoughts were leading.
"Tifa," Cloud interjected softly. "Those things weren't your fault. They weren't any of our fault. Things happened, remember? Those days… we couldn't control the things that happened or the people that we lost. We just… we were all fighting to survive."
Tifa didn't seem placated by his words, though. She looked up sharply, shaking her head at him.
"That's easy for you to say," she bit back. "You… you were able to earn their forgiveness. But me… I just don't know, Cloud. So many people died because of me, it just doesn't seem possible to ever atone for that."
"It wasn't just you, Tifa," Cloud reminded her. "It was all of us."
They both fell silent again, but Cloud could see by the way that Tifa's bottom lip shook and the way that she stared absently at the floor that she wasn't convinced and that she was still saddling deep reservoirs of guilt for the pains they had lived through and for those they had lost. Neither time nor healing rain nor trying to move on with their lives was enough to erase the traumas and the hurts that had been buried so deep and for so long.
They had to be confronted.
"Tifa," Cloud began softly after a moment, reaching up to take her chin in hand. It forced her to look at him, their eyes meeting. Cloud swallowed carefully, trying his best not to evaporate into those crimson eyes he had found himself falling deeply in love with all those many, many years ago. "Do you remember what Reeve talked to us about the night we left the church?"
Tifa sighed, dropping her gaze. The way that her shoulders sagged told him that she knew exactly what he was referring to. Cloud could recall the conversation vividly, had on the front steps of the Sector Five church that night when they had finally all been ready to make their way home and leave the past behind them.
"I know it may seem like things are truly over," Reeve had said quietly to them as they made their way down the stone steps. He remembered vividly how Tifa had been staring up at the broken gaps in what was left of the plate above, a darkening night sky pouring moonlight over the sector. "But the wounds that we're healing from… that you two, especially, are healing from… they don't go away overnight. Rain alone can't purify them."
"What are you suggesting?" Tifa had been thoughtful enough to ask. Cloud had remained stonefaced, staring back at Reeve with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Some serious, long-term solutions," Reeve answered. "Counseling, that sort of thing. We've plenty of resources at the WRO."
Tifa had thanked him, but it was not something that Cloud at the time had ever thought he'd entertain. And they never spoke of it again after that night.
But now as he sat on the floor of the bar's stockroom with Tifa in his arms, her voice still hiccupy from crying and her face still wet from her tears, he was beginning to think that maybe the way they had both been affected by the last seven year- Tifa especially - needed a little more than forgiveness and rain.
"I remember," Tifa replied after a pause.
They met eyes again, a silent agreement between them. Talking to anyone about his problems was the last thing Cloud wanted to do. He could barely manage to confront them himself or talk about them to Tifa, let alone a perfect stranger.
But looking into Tifa's eyes and seeing the deeply rooted pain that lived there, Cloud knew that they couldn't wait any longer.
Cloud felt the familiar burning pain of anxiety ball itself up in his chest as he sat across from the WRO licensed therapist, watching her pen travel across the pages on her notebook in her lap. To his right, Tifa sat with her head slightly bowed, her soft voice ghosting past him as she let thoughts and feelings she'd kept locked away for so long finally slip past.
He squeezed her hand gently, glancing at her out of the corner of her eyes. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes were wet in the corners where she had shed tears more than a few times during this session already. They had only been here for a little over an hour, but it felt like days.
The counseling session let Cloud on to the fact that Tifa bottled things up far more than he had even realized. It was eye-opening for him, in fact, to hear her finally admit to personal torments that he had never even known she was still struggling with: Aerith's death, the deaths of AVALANCHE and the people of Sector Seven, even the deaths of her parents and the villagers back home. It became clear to Cloud, listening to Tifa slowly open up and pour her heart out about these things, that she had been so focused on taking care of him and helping him that she'd neglected to ever disclose the things that had been hurting her.
Listening to her in the presence of a stranger - a pleasant-faced but serious-minded middle-aged woman - Cloud felt new stirrings of guilt percolate inside of him, realizing how much he had missed these last few years, how much Tifa had buried. More than ever, he recommitted silently to himself, he would do whatever it took to help her lift and carry these burdens. He hated that she thought she had to bear them alone.
Tifa had fallen silent while the therapist wrote, her fingers curling against the inside of Cloud's palm. She turned to him, swallowing carefully as their eyes met. Unsure of what to say, he simply nodded, letting her know he would be there for her no matter what they needed to do.
The therapist - Dr. Trueger was her name - pushed her glasses up her nose, then finally put her pen down. She regarded both Cloud and Tifa each with a thoughtful look before leaning forward and folding her hands on her lap.
"Thank you both for being so willing to open up about the thing you've been through," she told them. "Especially you, Tifa. It can't be easy talking about those things that we've been through, even things that happened so long ago."
Glancing at Tifa, Cloud could see the tiny shake of her head that she gave at that.
"It would seem to me that you're both experiencing the aftereffects of complex trauma and survivor's guilt" Dr. Trueger went on. "It's very normal and common for folks who've been through the sorts of things that you've been through. I've seen this often, especially with people who've come from Midgar following Meteorfall."
"I'm sorry," Tifa apologized, immediately sending a stab of pain through Cloud's heart. "I know some have been through worse things than I have. I should be grateful."
Cloud whipped his head in Tifa's direction. "Tifa, that's not true! Why are you-"
"It's alright," Dr. Trueger interrupted. "Part of healing from these kinds of guilts and traumas is being able to accept the way that they make you feel. We don't have to try and make it seem like things are always alright."
Petulantly, Cloud sat back, tightening his left hand into a fist while his right hand squeezed Tifa's even harder.
"There is something that can help," Dr. Trueger went on, focusing her attention back on Tifa. "A way to help you gain some closure and begin to move on. You'll never completely erase these hurts from your heart, but it will help you to accept them."
Tifa perked up. "And what is that?"
"A final visit to the places that haunt you. Where your parents and friends died. Their homes, or places they used to frequent and cherish. A place to say goodbye and to earn your final assurance of forgiveness."
She looked thoughtfully at Tifa, who fell silent at his side, staring down at her hands. Cloud, for his part, felt his heart began to race. The implications of what the therapist was suggesting gave him a rush of anxiety. The thought of going back to places where so many they cared about had been lost was mildly triggering.
But when he glanced back at Tifa, catching the wide and hopeful look in his eyes, he knew that he had to be strong for her.
"I'll be right there with you," he promised, seeing the question in her eyes.
She smiled at him, a light opening up behind her scarlet-colored eyes. With a quiet nod, she turned back to the therapist.
"I think you're right."
It took a couple of weeks for them to finally strike up the courage to organize a trip to reconcile with those she felt she still had to make peace with. After the grief counseling session, Tifa struggled to vocalize exactly what closure she felt she needed to get out of such an endeavor should they choose to pursue it. Cloud resisted prying, instead letting her mull over their therapy session, gently reminding her that he was there for her in any way that she needed him and no matter what decision she ultimately made. But after a few more sessions with Dr. Trueger and a little bit of research, Tifa ultimately decided that rather than visit gravesites and talk to ghosts, she wanted to do something that would have a little bit of a lasting impact.
This was why instead of visiting the Forgotten City for their first stop, they were heading to Kalm, Cloud pushing Fenrir along the highways that led to the walled-in village a few miles west of Edge.
He pulled up inside the city's gates, slowing Fenrir to a crawl along the cobblestone roads. Kalms was a quiet and picturesque village, with narrow interconnecting roads and houses that looked as if they had been plucked out of a storybook. For a time, Cloud and Tifa had considered it as a place to live, but with WRO's recovery efforts still underway, they had ended up staying close to Midgar in Edge. But as Cloud had come to realize through their counseling session, unbeknownst to him, Tifa had been avoiding Kalm because Elmyra Gainsborough lived there.
"You sure you're okay to do this?" he asked her when he parked the motorbike in front of Elmyra's home. Aerith's mother had moved there permanently after Meteorfall, and so instead of visiting their fallen friend's watery gravesite up north, Tifa had resolved that what she needed to do more than anything was spend time with her friend's mother. Cloud admitted that he was grateful for this development because entering the Forgotten City, even now, still made him feel uneasy.
Cloud hadn't known it, but Tifa still blamed herself for Aerith's death. She still blamed herself for ever getting Aerith involved with AVALANCHE's troubles back in Wall Market, which inevitably led to her joining their party and the subsequent events that followed. She admitted it was unreasonable and even silly, especially since she and Aerith had developed a bond that Cloud could say even he had become somewhat jealous of. Nonetheless, because of that guilt, she had avoided visiting Elmyra, relegating her contact to sending cards or flowers.
It was unlike Tifa, Cloud realized, to create such distance from others in her life. But he realized now that he had become so mired in his own issues that past year he'd completely overlooked the way Tifa had taken to coping with hers.
Tifa took his hand in his as she carefully climbed off of Fenrir's backseat. "I'm fine," she answered him, even though he could feel the way that her hand shook inside of his.
"We can always go home and try another time," Cloud told her encouragingly.
Tifa shook her head. "I'm ready to do this today," she replied. "It's about time."
Even though Cloud could tell she was nervous, he appreciated the look of resolve behind her carmine eyes. Nodding in tandem, he threaded his fingers through hers, walking side-by-by with her to Elmyra's front door.
It wasn't long after ringing the doorbell that Elmyra came to answer the door, standing in the threshold, wiping her hands off on her apron. Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead when she pushed the screen door open and spotted them, surprised to see them.
"Cloud, Tifa," she greeted, her eyes darting back and forth between them. "What a pleasant surprise. Tifa… it's been too long."
Cloud swallowed thickly. He'd seen Elmyra more than he'd cared to admit over the last year thanks to her flower delivery orders to the Forgotten City in memory of Aerith. Those trips had done nothing for his own guilt and anxiety, but now that he had reconciled things, he couldn't find fault in her requests any longer.
"Hi, Elmyra," Tifa greeted in a small voice. "We were in the area and thought we'd stop by. "
Elmyra smiled, an expression that Cloud admitted was not one he'd seen on her face too often. She nodded and stepped out of the way, gesturing for them to enter.
"Of course. Come in."
After seating themselves in Elmyra's living room, the older woman serving them hot coffee and home-baked cherry tarts, Cloud found himself staring at Tifa, who sat with her fingers anxious rolling over one another as she fidgeted. He knew that she was struggling to say what she had come here to say, and it pained him to see her so worried. Twice he almost opened his mouth to suggest that it was time for them to go home, but he bit his tongue, remembering what they had been told in therapy.
"So what brings you here after all this time?" Elmyra casually asked.
Cloud glanced at Tifa. She was staring at her hands again, seemingly summoning her resolved. She stopped fidgeting them, heaving a light sigh before she looked up at the older woman.
"Elmyra…" she began. "I… I wanted to come here to apologize."
"Apologize?" Elmyra repeated incredulously.
Tifa nodded. "I know… I know what happened to Aerith was outside of our control," she continued. "And I know that you've already forgiven us and that you don't blame Cloud or any of us for what happened to her. But I think… I think that I still haven't been able to forgive myself, and because of that, I've been avoiding you instead of welcoming you as part of our family."
Tifa shivered. Cloud felt a lump form in his throat as he listened, and he reached out to take Tifa's hand, giving it a light squeeze to encourage her. Elmyra, for her part, seemed somewhat taken aback, but as she stared back at Tifa in surprise, tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.
"Tifa," she began. "You're right, I don't blame you. And what makes you think I feel unwelcome? You all have your own lives and…" she glanced at Cloud, meeting eyes with him briefly. "I admit I may not have been very considerate of that for some time."
Tifa shook her ruefully. "It's not that. It's just… Aerith was the only girlfriend I'd had, and I don't think I realized how important she was to me until it was too late. I was focused on so many other things, that once she was gone… I just…"
Tifa broke off, her words choking into a light sob. Cloud felt his heart pinch, and he wrapped his arm around Tifa's shoulders, rubbing her upper arm gently. Elmyra leaned forward, taking Tifa's hands in hers.
"Tifa," Aerith's adoptive mother began softly. "You must know that Aerith cherished every moment that she had with you. That was just the kind of person that she was. You shouldn't feel sad about that. She would want you to remember the moments that you had together and to not get hung up on the fact that she's gone. Besides, knowing Aerith, I'm sure she's watching over you all the time, don't you think?"
Cloud glanced at Tifa, seeing a hint of a smile spread across her lips. It was as if he could see the weight lifted because she knew that the words Elmyra spoke were true.
"You're right," Tifa responded, glancing back at him and sharing her smile with him. "Sometimes… it almost feels as if she's right in the room with me."
Elmyra laughed, nodding her head as she slapped her hands on her lap. "That's how I feel sometimes, too. So we have that in common, Tifa."
Tifa smiled again, ducking her chin in the way that Cloud had always found adorable.
"Now don't you worry about me," Elmyra laughed again, leaning forward to pour more coffee into her mug. "Though I wouldn't mind if you came to visit me from time to time. And bring Marlene with you. I can't get in touch with Barret to save my life most days."
"Will do."
Tifa laughed, and hearing the sound, Cloud felt his own heart lighten. All he'd ever wanted was for Tifa to be happy and safe, and for him to have a hand in that.
It felt good to know he was succeeding.
Elmyra insisted they stay for dinner, and so by the time they left Kalm, the sun was just beginning to pitch its way toward the horizon. But they still had one more stop to make that day, and although Cloud suggested they save it for another time, Tifa insisted.
"I feel so much better after talking to Elmyra," she pleaded. "I really think I need to do this, and now."
And so they were driving back towards Edge, this time taking the freeway that veered back into Midgar. Cloud avoided the dilapidated city as much as possible, and he knew that Tifa hadn't ventured back into the city since their days helping the WRO with the immediate recovery efforts following Meteorfall. They both especially avoided the ruins of Sector Seven, a place that had once been home but had since been turned into little more than a tent city and haven for shanty houses following Shinra's drop of the plate two years ago.
Perhaps more stunning than Tifa's avoidance of Elmyra was the way that she'd almost completely lost contact with Marle after they'd left Midgar in pursuit of Sephiroth. Cloud knew that they'd exchanged letters a few times after the dust settled from Shinra's demise and Meteor, but Tifa had not seen the woman who had been like a grandmother to her since they'd first left the city. They didn't speak of it often, but he knew that she still struggled with coming to terms with the losses they had suffered at Shinra's hands and that she still blamed herself for the lives that had been ruined that day. But as Cloud learned from listening to Tifa during their counseling sessions, losing contact with Marle had been her way of punishing herself for all of it.
The skies were almost fully dark when they rolled into what was left of Sector Seven, a disheveled community that was working to rebuild itself beneath an open sky that it had once been denied access to. Cloud could feel the way that Tifa's body tensed as he drove deeper into the sector along the packed dirt roads, curling tighter against him as she held onto his waist.
Marle, like many other survivors of the plate drop, had stubbornly elected to stay in Midgar and in Sector Seven despite all of the destruction and threats that were present in those days. She was renowned for helping to lead the recovery efforts and for lobbying Reeve to ensure funds were directed to those slum communities in Midgar that were resistant to forming new settlements in places like Edge. While it had been more than two years since he'd seen the old landlady, everything that Cloud remembered about the spitfire old woman fit this bill.
She was now living in and managing a multiunit property on the main thoroughfare, and Cloud found an amicable place to park Fenrir before climbing off. Glancing at Tifa as he offered her his hand, he could see the way that her nerves had escalated all over again.
"It's late," he told her, rubbing circles over her palm with his hand. "Are you sure you want to do this now? We can always come back."
She nodded at him resolutely, narrowing her eyes. "I'm sure," she told him. "Truth be told, I was a little more afraid of Elmyra than I am Marle. It's just… it's been so long."
Cloud nodded, unsure of what to say to that.
Marle took far longer to answer the door than Elmyra had, and it was only when her hound came around to the front yard to bark at them did the woman appear from one of the units on the ground floor. Nothing about her had changed since they'd seen her last, including the severe expression on her face or the mirthful and challenging look in her stone-blue eyes. Her hand on her hip - the same one where a carefully strapped pistol sat - she approached them with a stunned but goading look on her face.
"Well I'll be damned," she said, stopping in front of them. "Tifa, is it you?"
"It is," Tifa replied before bursting into tears.
Cloud scratched the back of his neck, watching as the two women fell into an instant embrace. It was evident that Marle was happy to see Tifa and that she had missed her over the last couple of years. They hugged for a long time before they finally separated, Tifa wiping her eyes while Marle set her sights on him.
"And I see you're still around," she quipped. "Can't say I'm surprised, but I'm glad to see it, I suppose."
Tifa giggled, and Cloud could see that her earlier doubts had mostly evaporated. The old woman gestured to them to follow her, and they took up seats on her front porch as she brought out a bottle of bottom-shelf liquor and poured it into coffee mugs for them.
"Hope you don't mind a little moonshine," she said as she filled their cups with way more than Cloud thought he could stand to drink of the stuff. "It's hard to get anything better than this without leaving the city to fancy places like Kalm or Junon. And just where are you living these days, Tifa?"
"Edge," Tifa responded. "Cloud and I have lived there for the last two years."
"You and Cloud, huh?" Marle replied, raising an eyebrow. She leaned forward, glancing at the wolfhead on Tifa's ring finger. "Is that right?"
"Something like that," Cloud couldn't stop himself from mumbling, his neck suddenly hot.
Tifa giggled, staring down into her cup as she sipped. They traded small talk for a while, but Marle was not one for idle chatter. She set her drink down, squaring her eyes on Tifa again.
"Where've you been, child?" she asked directly. "I've been asking you to come visit for as long as I can remember. Didn't you get the rest of my letters?"
Tifa cleared her throat, lowering her eyes. "I did," she replied. "And that's why I'm here, Marle. I'm sorry that it took me so long."
Marle scoffed, waving her hand in the air. "It's no worry, my dear girl," she dismissed. "I'm just glad you're here now."
Tifa shook her head. "It's not just that," she said. "It's… I've taken so long to get back to you because I couldn't bring myself to face Sector Seven after everything that happened here. If it weren't for me, the things that I did, Jessie… Biggs... Wedge… everyone who lived here might still be alive."
Marle made a cross expression, tipping her forehead at Tifa. "Now you listen here," she said. "I'm just as responsible as anyone for what happened to Sector Seven, you hear? We all made our beds and laid in 'em. But I wouldn't change anything I did for all the money in the world, and you shouldn't either, Tifa."
Tifa looked up at her, and Cloud could see the tears that had begun to form in her eyes again.
"Now," Marle went on. "What's done is done. But you can blame yourself. And the people of Sector Seven… Jessie and Biggs and Wedge… they don't blame you, either. They were all fighting for AVALANCHE's cause. This entire Sector believed in liberation."
She swept her hand in a grand gesture to the sector proper, indicating the rebuilding efforts that still went on, pointing to the open sky that was no longer shielded by one of Shinra's plates. "We still do," she added.
Tifa nodded again, and she cried, this time laughing through her tears. Cloud watched silently as Marle leaned forward and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back before they separated.
"I'm glad you've come home," she said. "And you know, Tifa… you are always welcome to come visit and to help us out around here."
Tifa smiled, nodding her head. "It's a promise," she agreed.
Marle let go of Tifa's hand, turning her sights back to Cloud.
"I guess you're invited too," she gibed. "Put some of those skills to work."
Cloud snorted, both women laughing at his expense. But he didn't mind.
Because when Tifa glanced over at him, she was finally glowing again.
It was nearly midnight when they were finally home and settled for the night. Denzel was staying the night with a friend, and so they had the house to themselves, taking their time having a nightcap at the bar before showering together and then heading to bed.
At the present moment, Tifa was curled up on Cloud's chest, her fingers drumming lightly on his chest and her leg threaded through his. He could feel her heartbeat echo in rhythm with his, their bodies melded together as they cuddled under the covers, his arms wrapped snugly around her. They were floating together in the hazy afterglow of a lazy lovemaking session, Tifa's eyes sleepily shuttered while Cloud was still working to catch his breath.
Since leaving Marle's, Cloud could see a new light behind Tifa's eyes. It was one that he hadn't realized had been extinguished a long, long time ago, vanquished for so long that he had even noticed its absence. But alleviating herself of those final guilts had cleared the last cobwebs over her heart, much the way the forgiveness he'd found from Zack and Aerith in the Lifestream had done for him. Now, it seemed, they were both truly ready to move on and start their lives anew, just the way he had promised her when they stood on the Highland's deck two years ago, overlooking the Northern Crater where their enemy awaited.
"Cloud?"
"Hmm?" he opened his eyes again, glancing down to find those almond-shaped crimson eyes staring at him, glowing faintly under the streaks of moonlight that sank in front of their window. She looked so beautiful laid up on him like this, clinging to him like a lifeline. It was his favorite place to be in the world.
"Thank you."
Her voice was so small, but it carried that sweet and seductive note that drove him crazy about Tifa's tone. He ran his hands up and down her back in response.
"For what?"
"For today," she answered. "For everything. For encouraging me and being right by my side throughout all of it. If it weren't for you… I'd have never taken that step today, Cloud. And… I would never have gotten faced the truth about my feelings."
Cloud smiled, holding her eyes for long moments. Under the sheets, her hand found his, their fingers hooking together. She curled up even closer to him, snuggling her cheek against his chest.
"Hey," he offered softly. "I made a promise, didn't I? It's like I told you before, Tifa. I'll always be here to remind you of how strong you really are."
She smiled and leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Cloud found himself grinning through it, the warmth in his body stirred up for a dozen new reasons.
They had more diamonds in their lives than rust.