Chapter 53: A Celebration, A Tragedy, and a Plan

April 27, 0004

The basketball hit the backboard and went straight through the hoop.

"Nice slam dunk," Cloud complimented.

"That wasn't a slam dunk," Tifa corrected. "That was a bank shot."

They were in the outdoor basketball court. The weather was usually hot for late April, and Tifa, dressed in a basketball jersey and gym shorts, was sweating all over her body.

The clock then loudly chimed, and boomed out the hour.

"It's four," Tifa acknowledged. "I think I need to shower."

"No problem," Cloud replied.

She led Cloud back to her dorm, taking his hand in hers.

Her hand was, of course, sweaty, but Cloud could not care less. He was hoping, as any hormone-heavy boy would, that she would invite him to shower with her.

Tifa, meanwhile, was hoping he would join her as well. They were a couple, and were sexually active again.

Yet, there was still something missing. Tifa had mentioned their daughter, who would not be born for another four and a half years. But there was something else missing as well.

There was still no wedding band on their fingers.

That would probably be discussed at a later time, Cloud realized. This day would not be about them.

As she led him through the the campus, someone said the inevitable.

"There go the Lane cousins," grumbled Lynn. "Off to make three-eyed babies."

Cloud and Tifa, of course, only took it as a compliment. It meant almost everyone on campus was still buying their facade.

"So we're in here for being a couple of cousins in love," Tifa said aloud.

Of course, she and Cloud, and their closest friends, knew they were only pretending to be the Lane Cousins.

"Riggs is in here for hacking into the Shinra," she continued. "Lynn's in here for burning the orphanage, and Amy's a paid intern. That just leaves Milton and Miranda. I wonder what they're in for?"

Finally, they arrived at the dorm. When they entered, they were alone.

As soon as the door was closed, Tifa immediately decided to make her move.

"I love you sooooooo much!" she playfully declared before wrapping her arms around Cloud, drenching him in her sweat.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Do you mind? You just got your sweat all over me."

"I guess that means we have to shower together," she said with a seductive grin. "Don't worry, I have clean clothes for you to wear tonight, anyway."

Before Cloud could say anything, Tifa yanked his pants and his boxers to the ground.

"Let's bathe each other," she requested.

"I'd like that," he said as he stepped out of his pants and boxers.

He pulled Tifa's jersey off and tossed it aside. He then turned her around and took off her sports bra, causing her perfect breasts to spring free.

Tifa then turned around again.

"I think you'd prefer this view," she laughed before kissing him and removing his shirt.

Cloud slipped off Tifa's shorts, and noticed she was not wearing panties.

"You had this planned, didn't you," he suggested.

"Is that a problem?" she asked with a coy smile.

"Nope," Cloud admitted.

"Good," Tifa replied before taking his hand and leading him to the shower.

She turned on the hot water and turned him around.

"You first," she said.

She shampooed his hair and ran her fingers through it.

"I have an idea," she began.

"What's that?" Cloud asked.

"When we get back to the present, I'll have basketball hoops installed in the gym at the Presidential Palace," Tifa replied.

"You want to play basketball together?" he asked.

Tifa nodded.

"My Jersey, my sneakers, and nothing else," she added as she began to wash his bare back. "Does a basketball jock turn you on?"

"If it was you," he replied.

"Good enough," she said as she washed his lower half.

She then turned him around and washed his front, kissing him passionately as she washed below.

She then handed him the cloth.

"You're turn," she said with a smile as she turned around.

Cloud duly lathered and rinsed Tifa's long, raven-colored hair. He gently washed her bare back. Finally, he washed her butt, taking extra time as he did so.

"How does that feel?" he whispered.

"Good," she whispered back as she began to tense up.

And then, Tifa turned around and kissed him deeply, with Cloud squeezing her butt as she did so.

She then placed her hands on his shoulders, and smiled at her love.

"Okay," she said. "I'm horny. Everyone call them ass cheeks, but call them yes cheeks."

She kissed him again, and stroked his wet, spiky hair.

"How long has it been since we've had sex in the shower?" Tifa asked as she turned around.

"Too long," Cloud replied as he placed his hands on her bare hips.

LATER….

They finished their showering and dried off.

Cloud put on a golf shirt and a pair of khakis.

Tifa then slipped on a black spaghetti-strap dress and a pair of heels.

She quickly put her makeup on.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready," Cloud replied.

Then, taking his hand, she led him through campus again, only this time to the dining hall. When they got there, they took the elevator to the top floor, where the Crystal Room was.

The Crystal Room was reserved for special occasions, and this indeed was special.

Cloud and Tifa then made their way to the head table, where they were to be seated for the occasion.

Riggs was already there, as was Milton.

Miranda was at the head of the table, as she was the one being celebrated.

The reason they were celebrating Miranda was the fact that it was her birthday. She was now eighteen, and was quite overwhelmed by this fact.

They had dinner.

She opened gifts.

Everything brought tears to her eyes.

"Speech!" Milton called after she blew out the set of eighteen candles.

Miranda laughed as she rose to her feet.

Tifa clutched Cloud's hand; it was an emotional moment for her as well.

"I made it!" Miranda began as she dried a tear from her eye. "I'm eighteen. I'm an adult. I'm a grown woman!"

She paused.

"Sorry," she giggled as she dried another tear. "It's all I can think of right now. Thank you all for making my day so special!"

She paused. She suddenly thought of what she really wanted to say.

"I….don't think I would have made it without you all," Miranda said. "Especially when you twisted my arm into doing all those things. I really think it was you four that kept me going. It's because of you four that I'm still here. I love you all. Thank you."

It was, of course, Riggs, who had planned everything.

A FEW DAYS LATER….

May 8, 0004

The events of the next four weeks were cemented when Riggs was on his way to class.

He was halfway there when he was stopped by security. One of them placed his hand on his shoulder, and asked him to join them in private.

Riggs immediately became nervous, as something like this would never be good news.

The walk seemed to go on forever as they passed all of the locations he had passed hundred times before.

Riggs continued, with his heart beginning to accelerate, wondering what they had to tell him.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. It was the security office. They took him straight into the first available room, and asked him to sit at the table.

It was at that moment they delivered the bad news.

A fire had broken out in his parents' home with his parents and sister still inside.

Nobody survived.

Riggs immediately collapsed to the floor.

LATER…

May 9, 0004

Tifa awoke

It was three in the morning, but she suddenly sat up wide awake in bed. She looked across the room to see, and hear, Miranda crying hard. Although the lights were off, Tifa could see that her eyes were red, and her face was wet.

"Miranda!" Tifa whispered as she ran over to her friend and hugged her.

"I'm sorry," Miranda sobbed. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry about it," Tifa assured her. "What's wrong?"

Of course, the answer was obvious.

"Riggs," Miranda replied. "I can't stop thinking about him!"

Tifa looked at Miranda with empathy, remembering how close of friends she and Riggs were.

"He was so close," she continued. "He was going to turn twenty-one. He was going to be freed. He was going to go back to his family. And now he's an orphan. He doesn't have a family anymore. It's too awful."

Tifa hugged her friend again, and Miranda hugged her back, tightly.

"He doesn't deserve this," Miranda sobbed. "He deserves a family. He really deserves one!"

"I know," Tifa whispered. "I know."

"He's been so good to me," Miranda continued. "He really deserves one. He really deserves one."

Miranda finally fell asleep an hour later, but she did have a point.

Riggs had fallen victim to an unspeakable tragedy.

He deserved better.

LATER….

May 11, 0004

The saddest part was that Riggs was not allowed to attend the funeral. He was, however, permitted to stream it through a laptop.

As he wanted to be as close to being there, he wore a suit with a black tie.

Miranda joined him, wearing a black dress.

She clutched her friend the entire time as he sobbed.

And, as she did her best to hide it from him, she sobbed as well.

LATER….

Riggs returned class on the twelfth. He did his best to focus under the circumstances.

Miranda, of course, would check on him.

She would eat with him.

She would do schoolwork with him.

She would sometimes go to classes that were not hers for him.

Other times, she would simply hold him as he sobbed.

By the sixteenth, Riggs seemed himself again, at least on the outside, and began talking to everyone as he always had.

Things seemed back to normal.

At least on the outside.

LATER…

May 20, 0004

But then, one day soon afterward, Miranda suddenly called Cloud, Tifa, Riggs, and Milton to a meeting. All four of them met with her on an outdoor picnic table, wondering what she had to say.

What she did say took everyone somewhat by surprise.

"So," Miranda began, "you're probably wondering why I've called you all here."

Cloud, Tifa, Milton, and Riggs all nodded in unison.

"All five of us have enough good behavior credits to take a vacation," Miranda continued. "Away from here."

The four of them were baffled.

She called us here for this?! thought Milton. A vacation. So soon after…

"I'd like to propose we take one together," Miranda suggested. "All five of us."

"Where?" Cloud asked skeptically, seriously wondering what had brought this up.

"Ruki Island," Miranda answered. "A resort island that used to be managed by Wutai before they lost the war to the Shinra. It's not that famous, and it's rarely visited."

"Where is it?" Milton asked.

"Five miles off the coast," Miranda continued. "Less than a half hour's ferry ride."

Cloud, Tifa, Riggs, and Milton looked at each other.

There has to be something she's not telling us, Cloud thought. Nobody comes up with something like this on a whim.

There has to be a connection between this and Riggs losing his family, Tifa thought.

"We'll have to wear leg braces," Milton pointed out.

"Actually," Miranda said, "just a small wrist bracelet will do. It looks just like a cyber watch."

Cloud, Tifa, Riggs, and Milton looked at each other skeptically.

It was a great idea, but the timing was questionable.

"And now," Miranda continued, "Cloud, Tifa, and Milton, I need to talk to you three alone."

Everyone but Riggs stood up.

"We'll be back," Miranda assured him, before leading the four of them behind the nearby fence.

Riggs sat alone at the table. He could see all four of them behind the fence, talking to each other, presumably about him, but he could not, for the life of him, make out what they were saying.

He was doubtful whether he would enjoy this trip; he was still hurting, and he knew he would for a very long time.

He looked up again.

The four of them were still behind the fence, still talking.

"What the hell are they planning?" he wondered aloud.

Suddenly, he saw Miranda talking to the other three, her body language suggesting she was trying to reason with them. He still could not hear what they were saying.

Riggs sighed and pulled out his phone.

"This is going to take a while," he muttered to himself.

Finally, after about an hour, the four returned. They looked as if they had spent that entire time in deep conversation about something.

"Sorry," Miranda apologized. "You'll find out on the trip. If you agree to it, of course."

A surprise to cheer me up, Riggs immediately deduced. Cute.

"It's a chance to get away from everything," Miranda insisted.

Riggs looked his friend in the eyes.

You know, he realized, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'll be fun to do.

"Alright," Riggs agreed. "You've talked me into it."

"Yes!" whispered Miranda.

Cloud, Tifa, and Milton had visible smirks on their faces.

The dates were set from May 27 through June 6.