Chapter 11: The Support, Part II

February 18, 0008

Unfortunately, Jack Balen also got his support as well. Just like Tifa, he had his own set of strongholds.

His first stronghold was North Corel. This was the dilapidated hometown of Barret Wallace. It was slowly being repaired, but in the physical sense only.

Many minds were still broken.

Some had forgiven Barret, some had not.

In any event, most were not educated; it was generally believed that, in North Corel, your lot in life was to work in a factory if you were a man, and the kitchen if you were a woman.

This was somewhat hard on Jessie, who was most definitely a career woman.

But what North Corel really hated was outsiders.

Jack Balen milked that dry during a rally there.

"When I'm elected president, the Western Continent won't depend on anybody!" he shouted. "We'll stand on our own to feet!"

The crowd cheered.

"We don't need the Eastern Continent!" he shouted.

The crowd cheered again.

"We don't need the Northern Continent!"

The crowd cheered a third time.

"And we sure as shit don't need the Southern Continent!"

The crowd roared loudly.

"And to prove it, we're going to build a fence around the teleporter!" Jack Balen continued. "And everybody's going to chip in to build it!"

The teleporter, of course, was the then-recently discovered teleporter that existed on all four continents, and could send a person from any continent to any other continent.

Not everyone in North Corel was supportive of Balen.

One couple stayed in and watched the whole thing on TV.

"He's full of shit," Jessie muttered. "All three of those continents have metals we don't have. We'll end up broke if we cut all trade off."

"We need to let everyone here know," Barret pointed out.

"Easier said than done," Jessie sighed.

LATER….

Jack Balen's second stronghold was Gongaga.

Gongaga, at that time, like North Corel, was a run-down, backwards town, though not nearly as badly as the former.

This was Jack Balen's second stop of the day. He hooked everyone in real easily with a promise to hire the unemployed to build a new reactor.

Unlike in North Corel, there was nobody to support Tifa. Near the town entrance, there was a mutilated Tifa dummy, spilled intensities and all.

Of all towns, Gongaga hated Tifa the most. This was because not only was she against the plan to rebuild the reactor, but she promised to introduce legislation outlawing Mako reactors on the Western Continent.

"Mako will never be outlawed as long as I'm the president!" Jack Balen shouted at a rally that day, much to the cheer of the crowd. "We have two working reactors on the Western Continent. But at the end of my first year in office, we'll have four!"

The crowd cheered.

"And by the end of my second year, we'll have one for every town!"

The crowd cheered even louder.

LATER….

Balen's third stronghold was Rocket Town. This was mainly because it was the town he so happened to be the mayor of. The hook he was using there was that he had announced plans to turn Rocket Town into a spaceport, quadrupling the town's size in the process.

There was, of course, one person who could see through him.

"He's not going to turn Rocket Town into a spaceport," Shera said. "He's just going to cut the funding at make it a ghost town!"

Of course, that largely fell on deaf ears. While Rocket Town was famous for, well, the rocket, the rest of the town was socially backward. Cid alone should prove that point, but much or Rocket Town was like him. In fact, Cid and Shera were Tifa's only supporters in the town, and that was because the former was friends with her.

In fact, just about anything Shera said fell on deaf ears. Rocket Town had a reputation for being the most sexist town in the world.

After all, the Downings live right outside of it!

So far, it appeared that Tifa had Nibelheim, Cosmo Canyon, and Costa del Sol, while Rocket Town, Gongaga, and North Corel favored Jack Balen.

Only Xing and Wutai were undecided.

THAT NIGHT….

They say thinking about past relationships while in your current one is unhealthy and destructive.

I say that's a bunch of horseshit.

I'm no relationship expert; the fact that I married my best friend on a whim means that I never had a boyfriend. But I've known people over the years, and I have learned you can enhance your current relationship with bits and pieces from your past ones.

It happened that evening. While Jack Balen was making campaign stops in his friendly cities, Cloud was going about Nibelheim, handing out flyers and going door-to-door.

He got home around six that evening, a few minutes after his wife did from going door-to-door herself. After kissing and saying hello, Tifa decided to get to the point.

"I owe you for yesterday," she began.

"No, you don't," Cloud insisted. "I was happy to do it."

"Maybe I want to reward my husband," Tifa insisted. "Come on. I won't shut up until you tell me a reward."

Cloud sighed in defeat. There was no getting around her.

"Fine," he said. "One date."

"One date?" Tifa asked skeptically. "We're married!"

"They always say to date your spouse," Cloud insisted.

That is true, by the way. Tobin and I would always go on dates.

"Very well," she agreed. "Where to?"

"Right there," he replied as he pointed to the parlor floor. "With a pizza for each of us."

"That's not a date," Tifa dismissed.

Wait for it.

"It is if I say it is," Cloud insisted.

"Are you sure that's the reward you want?" Tifa asked.

"Naked," he added.

Tifa immediately felt a tingle inside.

And this was the past relationship material I was referring to. Tifa's aforementioned predecessor would have herself and Cloud strip naked and just sit by the fire. She found that incredibly romantic, and so do I, but Cloud wanted to apply it to his current relationship.

"Naked?" she asked with a smile. "You want to have sex on the living-room floor?"

"Just a naked date by the fire," he clarified. "I wasn't planning on sex. But if it happens, it happens."

"Either way, I'd like that," Tifa said. "It would be something new to try."

I don't know what she meant by something new, since they spent a week in the buff on an island. Maybe she meant around the house, or a single date, as opposed to a honeymoon. But, in any case, their pizzas were delivered within half an hour.

Now, it was time.

Cloud had kindled a fire in the fireplace and dimmed the lights.

"I'm going to close the curtains out back," Tifa announced. "Just in case."

Tifa went to the back side of the house and closed the curtains facing the backyard. She was delighted at the idea; she had known Cloud for twenty years before they had gotten married, but they had managed to keep their clothes on until their wedding night. After that, they spent a whole week naked on an island for their honeymoon. Still, any opportunity for her to spend some time naked with Cloud gave Tifa butterflies.

When she returned, Cloud was sitting naked on the floor.

The butterflies came again for Tifa. It was a pleasant surprise for her to see her man in all his naked glory. The pizza boxes were in front of him and slightly opened. The fireplace was lit, so they wouldn't get cold.

There was only one thing left for her to do.

She unzipped her jeans and slipped out of them.

She then pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside. She then reached back and unhooked her bra, tossing it on her shirt.

She began to pull her panties off her body.

Cloud looked on at his wife's nude body. For a few brief moments, he was able to gaze at her and enjoy the show.

With nothing further ado, she lay on her stomach next to her husband.

Both of them were content with the situation. All they could see was each other's bare shoulders (and, occasionally, Tifa's cleavage), but it didn't matter. It was the closeness that counted.

"I feel so much safer here," Tifa began as she gently stroked Cloud's bare back. "Thanks for getting that security system."

"Don't mention it," he assured her.

She then took his hand in hers.

"Kiss me," she commanded.

Cloud pressed his lips, and his tongue, against hers.

"I never thought married live would be this incredible!" she said.

"Tell me about it," Cloud agreed.

"Okay," she said. "I'm hungry."

The funny thing about Cloud and Tifa is that they were always more like friends than lovers, even when they had their naked time together.

After they finished their pizzas, they lay on their stomachs watching a movie.

When the movie was over, Tifa turned to Cloud. She held his hand and smiled at him.

"Thanks for supporting me," she said with a smile. "And thanks for keeping my ass safe."

In response, Cloud took a look at his wife's bare butt.

"Yep," he said. "Your ass looks unharmed."

Tifa chuckled slightly.

"This was a wonderful idea," she complimented. "I really like this."

"I can see that," Cloud replied in a naughty tone of voice.

Tifa immediately buried her face in her hands once she realized what he meant. A wave of embarrassment took her.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized, fearing she ruined the moment.

"It's okay," Cloud assured her as he returned to her level and stroked her hair.

"This is so embarrassing!" she continued. "It's just that the emotional connection…it just turns me on, and…."

"Stop," he insisted. "You're only human."

For a few moments, they were both silent.

Then, the inevitable question flew.

"Do you want to have sex tonight?" Tifa asked.

"How about right here," Cloud suggested. "I don't think we christened this room."

Tifa laughed and kissed him.

"I don't think we did, either," she replied as she raise her bare shoulders.

An hour later, they were catching their breath. Cloud was sitting on the floor, with Tifa sitting on the sofa, looking down on the man she loved.

"I feel bad for whoever sits on this sofa," she laughed.

"Who's going to know?" Cloud asked, returning the smile.

Tifa sat down on the floor a mere inch from her love and stroked his spikey hair.

"I still owe you," she insisted. "I think I needed this as much as you did."

"You don't owe me anything," Cloud insisted. "I love you."

Tifa, struck by emotion, felt her eyes moisten.

"Give me a hug," she whispered as she pulled him close, rocking him gently. "Love your skin on me."

She said that a lot, but I get it. I get butterflies whenever Tobin's skin is on mine.

"Okay," she said as she broke the hug. "It's getting late. Can we spoon tonight?"

"Of course," Cloud replied.

Tifa smiled and kissed him again. She then got up and turned around and walked toward the stairs, giving her husband a generous view of her bare butt as she did so.

He then followed her up.