Chapter 59: The Sting
MEANWHILE, BACK IN 0004...
Cloud and Tifa did not stop anywhere for anything for more days than they had counted. They simply kept sailing their boat through the open ocean, on the move and with directions, but not purpose.
They would each take twelve hour shifts, piloting the boat so it would never be left still in the open ocean. They wanted to be on the move twenty-four hours a day.
Days fell off the calendar as they continued to do this.
Eventually, Cloud and Tifa noticed gradual changes about their surroundings. The air was becoming more humid, and the weather was becoming warmer. The day after they noticed this, they passed a small island. It had coconut, banana, and palm trees, and Spanish moss surrounded all of the flora.
It could only mean one thing; they were way down south, and an overtly long way from any place they were used to.
They had not realized how far they had traveled.
The day after that, they had entered the Twenty Islands.
In the present, half belonged to the Western Continent, and the other half belonged to the Eastern Continent. But, in this time, there was free travel between all of the islands, which all had several villages on them.
They found a small, uninhabited island with a clear lagoon that only had a small strait connecting it to the ocean. It was the perfect place for them to finally stop and ponder their next move.
After a couple of days there, they realized their answer.
They were both seventeen now; nobody would question them going about on their own. They were hundreds of miles away from their other selves. They were also hundreds of miles away from anyone they had butted heads with.
In short, it was obvious they were out of danger, and they mutually decided to explore the villages.
All they had to do was come up with a couple of alternative names.
"I'll go by Spike," Cloud said. "It matches my hair."
"I'll go by my middle name, Claire," Tifa replied. "Following in my mother's footsteps."
"Wait a minute," Cloud said. "This whole time, Claire was your mother's middle name and not her first?"
Tifa nodded.
"You never knew that?" she asked.
Cloud shook his head.
"What was her first name?" he asked.
"Althea," Tifa replied. "Thea, for short. She started going by Claire so she wouldn't have the same name as President Shinra's wife."
Tifa then stood next to Cloud in front of the mirror. She was dressed in a white crop tank and a pair of Daisy Duke jean shorts.
Cloud could not recall how long it had been since she had worn anything that revealing.
"What?" she laughed. "We're in the tropics!"
Then, she put her hand on Cloud's shoulder, and smiled at him lovingly.
"We're finally back to normal," she said. "And we don't have any distractions. We can fully enjoy this time."
Before Cloud could say anything, Tifa wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply.
"I love you so much," she said. "Dance with me?"
He danced with her for a little.
They then decided to explore the islands.
They had a procedure for doing so. They would first make sure nobody they knew was there. They would then cautiously check the island to make sure nobody had gotten wind of anything they did up north. Once those two things were checked, exploring the island was greenlighted.
On the first island, there were a lot of resort hotels, and the outskirts seemed rather poor, with countless vendors in the street. To complicate things, nobody spoke English, so verbal communication was out of the cards.
All else they found was one central town that seemed to be a combination of middle class, poor, and a couple of super rich.
On the second island, they spoke English, which was a relief. There was a market and a shopping complex, with a few restaurants and markets. There were resorts with beaches, but the water was all muddy.
On the third island, there were mainly gardens and caves. They also spoke English, but the island seemed almost as poor as the first one.
In the meantime, Cloud and Tifa realized they would need a place to stay.
Then, Tifa had an epiphany.
"Our lagoon island would be the perfect hiding spot."
It made sense; nobody seemed to go there, and it was certainly uninhabited. Plus, there would be no rent to pay. So they dropped anchor there and decided to settle indefinitely.
As the weeks went by, they realized they still needed food and fuel, and thus needed to work some off jobs.
First, Tifa taught English lessons on the first island, though that only made barely enough for weekly groceries.
Next, on the third island. Cloud tried to start a cooking school, but Cloud couldn't cook any better than a toddler could, so that failed rather quickly.
Then, on the second island, Tifa started a program to help people quit smoking, which basically involved locking them in a room for a few days so they could go cold turkey.
In their spare time, Cloud and Tifa often debated the three remaining mysteries of their boat. The first was, of course, the sealed locker's combination. The second was the sealed locker's contents. The third was the boat's previous owner.
And, of course, Cloud and Tifa left plenty of time for each other. Now that their relationship was back to normal, it felt almost as if they had resumed their original vacation, only it would be much longer than originally planned.
August 19, 0004
They were still in their lagoon island on Cloud's birthday, when he was, legally, now eighteen. The day's adventures began when the boat was docked at the second island. Tifa had asked Cloud to go pick up some food, which he duly did.
When he returned, he went into the cabin, where his ears were greeted by running shower water.
"Just put them on the counter," Tifa commanded from the shower. "Don't open the fridge."
"Why not?" Cloud asked curiously.
"Never mind why," Tifa replied. "Just get us back to the lagoon."
So Cloud piloted the boat back to the lagoon. He was not naïve; he knew she was planning something. It was his eighteenth birthday (although, with all the time travel, he was technically somewhere in his early forties; he did not bother to count the exact number, since he had the body of an eighteen-year-old anyway).
Half an hour later, they arrived at the lagoon.
Cloud stopped the boat and dropped anchor.
"Are we back?" Tifa called from the cabin.
"We're back," Cloud confirmed.
"Okay, then!" Tifa announced. "Come on in!"
Cloud duly entered the cabin.
His eyes were greeted by the sight of pancakes and French toast on the table.
"I made breakfast for my birthday boy!" Tifa happily announced.
And then, Cloud's attention was immediately drawn to his wife.
Tifa was wearing a bright orange tank top that greatly flattered her chest and showed a generous amount of cleavage. Below that, she wore nothing; she was completely naked from the waist down.
"Well," she began, "I was debating between the pants, panties, bikini bottoms, and the thong, and I kept being so indecisive so I decided to just cartoon animal it today!"
Cloud then noticed she was wearing full makeup. Her hair was brushed as well.
"You look beautiful," he complimented.
"Thanks!" she said.
Tifa then smiled at him.
"Well, don't just stand there!" she commanded. "Come over here and kiss me!"
Cloud came over and kissed his wife, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"I love you," she whispered as she kissed his cheek.
She then took his hand, led him to the table, and sat him down. She then joined him across from him.
They ate breakfast.
Then, Tifa cleared the table and washed the dishes. She turned her back to him, of course, to give him a view. In the present time, she was the most powerful woman in the world, but today, she would just be his girl.
At ten, they went fishing, sitting next to each other on the edge of the boat above the ladder. Tifa initiated that; she wanted to remind both Cloud and herself that they were both best friends and a couple, and that the former had come first. They did not catch anything, but neither minded. Tifa tried to keep the event causal, but, toward the end, Cloud put his hand on her knee, sending chills throughout her body.
At eleven, she made out with him. She positioned herself on her knees and in front of the mirror, mainly to again give Cloud an ample view of her exposed rear end. She made sure his clothes stayed on for now; she planned on them having sex later that day, but for now she wanted to build anticipation. Cloud took that hint and kept his hand above her waist. The passionate kisses they shared were enough.
At noon, she gave him his birthday cake, lit the candles, and sang to him. Cloud was somewhat confused on why they had it for lunch instead of dinner, but was grateful nonetheless.
At one, they played card games.
At two, they played Mousetrap.
At three, Tifa suddenly walked out onto the deck and placed her hands on the bars, staring into the deserted island.
Cloud followed her out, and noticed she seemed lost in thought.
"You okay?" he asked as he stood next to her.
"I just haven't felt this free in years," she answered.
"Free?" asked Cloud.
"My butt and my vagina are out," Tifa replied. "It doesn't get any freer than this."
"Don't tell me you forgot our honeymoon naked on that island," Cloud reminded her.
Tifa laughed.
"Far from it," she replied with a smile.
Cloud leaned in and kissed her gently and lovingly on the mouth.
Tifa turned, wrapped her arms around Cloud, and kissed him more deeply, pressing her tongue against his.
And then, Cloud could no longer resist and placed his hand on Tifa's bare butt.
He had lost his ability to wait patiently.
So had she.
"Do you want to have sex?" she whispered in between kisses.
"You bet," Cloud replied as he pressed his tongue against hers.
"I'm yours," she informed him.
"Standing right here," he whispered as he kissed her neck. "With your hands on the bars and mine on your hips."
The thought of that made her more eager.
LATER….
Cloud, now in his swim trunks, stood in the water outside the boat. He was about waist-deep in, and was looking at the floater a few feet away. On it was the birthday dinner Tifa had grilled for him.
Cloud then turned to see Tifa climbing down the ladder. She was still wearing only her tank top, though she had it tied at her midriff so it would not get wet.
They stood across from each other at the floater.
They ate the dinner.
Then, Tifa waded over to Cloud.
She made the first move, wrapping her arms around Cloud's neck and kissing him deeply, running her hands up and down his bare back.
He kissed her neck, sending tingles through her body again.
And then, Tifa wrapped her legs around Cloud's waist. She pressed her lips against his again, their tongues meeting once more.
"I'm in the mood for seconds," she whispered seductively.
As they continued to kiss, Cloud held onto Tifa's legs for support.
This proved fortunate for Cloud, but quite unfortunate for Tifa.
This was because a few yards behind them, a jellyfish, that had been kidnapped by the winds from the previous night, was pulsating through the water. He was mainly minding his own business, out to catch a fish or perhaps a crustacean. He only had two faults: he had no eyes, so he could not see, and he had no brain, so he could not think.
Tifa continued to kiss Cloud deeply and passionately.
She began to try to pull his trunks down with her feet.
And then, she felt a sharp, burning sensation in her backside.
"Ooooowwwwwww!" Tifa cried suddenly as she practically dug her fingers into Cloud's bare shoulders. "Fuck!"
"What's wrong?" he quickly asked.
"I dunno!" she groaned with clenched teeth. "But it really hurts!"
Cloud looked to his side to see the jellyfish swimming away.
"It was a jellyfish," he informed her. "A sea nettle, to be exact."
"Shit," she muttered. "We need to get out of here!"
Tifa let go of Cloud, and they both began to make their way back to the ladder.
"You….go…first," she commanded through the pain. "Carry the….floater!"
Knowing protesting would be useless, Cloud climbed up the ladder and tossed the floater aside.
Tifa climbed up next, though the pain slowed her down.
Cloud returned to the ladder just in time to see the struggling Tifa.
"Can you….help me up?" she begged.
She normally would not do so, but the pain was extreme.
Cloud helped his love finish her way up the ladder.
As soon as she was back on the boat, Tifa collapsed to her hands and knees.
The pain was so intense she began to cry.
"Oooh, my butt!" she sobbed.
Cloud crouched down to Tifa's level.
Tears were streaming down her face.
Her eyes were bright red.
Cloud felt as if a piece of his heart was ripped out; he had seen Tifa cry before, but never out of pain.
The first thing he thought of was to put his hand on hers for support.
In response, Tifa pressed her lips against his mouth in a loving kiss. It did nothing about the pain, but it gave her at least a sense of security.
Cloud quickly helped Tifa to her feet, and led her to one of the lounge chairs on the deck, laying her gently down on her front.
Tifa immediately buried her head in the chair and continued to cry.
She had never felt pain this bad.
"I'll fix this," Cloud assured her.
"No….Cloud," she dismissed. "Don't….pee on it."
"I wasn't planning on that," he said. "I know that's bullshit."
"Can you….get the vinegar…..and pour it on my butt?" she pleaded.
Cloud nodded, went to the cabin, grabbed the vinegar, and poured it on Tifa's bare butt.
The pain quickly subsided.
Tifa stopped crying.
She then looked up at her love and gave him a sheepish look.
"I suppose that asshole could have stung me in worse places!" she laughed as she dried her remaining tears.
Cloud laughed along; the thought had occurred to him as well.
"Can you help me take my shirt off?" she requested as she lifted herself to her knees.
Cloud duly pulled Tifa's tank top off, causing her breasts to spring free.
He then took another lounge chair any lay down beside his wife, facing her.
"How's the pain?" Cloud asked.
"Slowly going away," she replied.
"Good," he said. "Talk about a pain in the ass!"
"Sorry I ruined your birthday!" Tifa laughed as she lay back down on her stomach.
"You didn't," he assured her. "You made it special, as always. I'm just happy to spend it with you as my wife this year."
Tifa smiled and kissed him on the mouth.
She then glanced town at her wedding band; she never tired of glancing at it.
"I really love you," she said.
THE NEXT MORNING….
August 20, 0004
Tifa and Cloud awoke simultaneously. They also noticed, just as simultaneously, that they were still in their lounge chairs on the deck.
"Did we sleep out here?" Cloud asked, though the answer was obvious.
"We must have," Tifa replied. "When did we fall asleep?"
"I remember it going dark," he answered. "And that's all I remember.
Tifa turned her back to Cloud and sat up.
"Well," she said as she fixed her hair, "the pain's gone."
She then stood up.
"Any sting marks on my butt?" she asked.
"None," Cloud replied.
"You really did a good job with that vinegar," she complimented as she walked to the edge of the boat and put her hands on the bars, peering into the island's interior.
Suddenly, Tifa struck a victory pose.
"Woot!" she yelled.
"What happened?" asked Cloud as he got up and joined his wife.
With a sly grin, Tifa pointed to the opposite side of the lagoon.
The jellyfish had been washed up on the beach, dead as a doornail.
"Take that, you son of a bitch!" she laughed.
She then turned around, placed her hands back on the bars, and smiled at Cloud.
"Well," she said, "I'm back to normal. Want to have sex in the shower?"
"Well," Cloud began, but he could not finish.
Tifa grabbed his hand and began to dance, leading him toward the cabin.
"Cloud and I are having sex in the shower!" she began to sing.
"Cloud and I are having sex in the shower!"
"Cloud and I are having sex in the shower!"
"Cloud and I are having sex in the shower!"