Chapter 34: The Celebration
April 2, 0008
Tobin and I got up around six that morning. We woke up naturally, and were too excited to go back to sleep.
Today was the day; security was surrounding every exit of Nibelheim. Nobody could enter the town without going through a metal detector.
We arrived in the town square at nine. As we were relatives of the president-elect, we were permitted to sit up front. Tobin's parents were there, as was his Uncle Brian (Tifa's father). Cloud would join us at ten.
The crowd began to gather at ten-thirty. There were, surprisingly, no protesters. All of the seats were full by eleven. Ever shop and restaurant, even the diner, was closed.
It was an important moment; it was the Western Continent's first dose of democracy.
At eleven fifty-five, Tifa appeared at the town square. She was dressed in a gray pant suit that made her look years older, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible!
She took her oath at noon.
She was declared President of the Western Continent.
She gave her inaugural address. Then, there was a small parade afterward. I do say small, because Nibelheim is a simple village. Of course, that was about to change. The cobblestone street ended at the south end of the village, but there was a dirt street just to the south. New buildings would soon go up to the south. A street was also planned to the east.
From this day forward, the Western Continent would never be the same again.
MEANWHILE…
In Corel Prison, Jack and Sumner Balen were forced to watch the inauguration on TV. They were the only two prisoners allowed to watch it; they were taken to a private cell to do so.
Jack and Sumner remained silent the entire time. The warden probably wanted to torment them, but they had no reaction whatsoever.
Except for one.
"I will get out of here," Jack Balen muttered. "Just you wait."
This time, Sumner kept his mouth shut.
THAT NIGHT…..
The inaugural ball was held at Gold Saucer. It was closed for the evening, though, thankfully, the public had no objection.
Tifa, the woman of the hour, attended in a silver evening gown. She may have been a president, but she looked like a princess.
I wore a black sleeveless maxi dress. I wanted to look elegant and sexy, but I didn't want to outdo her.
Battle Square had been converted to a dance floor. All the couples danced with each other, despite remembering that there was a trap door below them, which was at least covered by carpet.
I, of course, danced with Tobin. I saw Yuffie, whose dress was so short I can't believe she didn't get thrown out, dance with multiple guys. She was safe at this point; with all that had happened, The Yuffie Show was old news.
There was a lot I overheard as well. I overheard Shera, who was still ring-crazy, say to Cid: "I want to have our wedding here!" She had decided not to wear her glasses, and it was obvious she couldn't see at all without them.
I was really happy to see Reeve and Parker dancing together; had Jack Balen won, chances are they would be in jail for that.
Champagne was served, despite the fact our new president wasn't old enough to drink. I got drunk embarrassingly quickly, but I didn't make a fool out of myself.
At least not that I remember.
We then played games at Wonder Square. Tobin and I stuck to the fighting games. The violent ones, to be exact. We both have a thing for violent fighting games, but I've known a surprising amount of couples who do.
And then, I did what Tifa would usually do: I slid his hand down and let it rest on my butt through my dress.
He got it right away, and we were off to our hotel room in Ghost Square.
LATER…
The president took the first gentleman to Round Square.
"Two, please," Tifa requested.
"On the house, Madam President!" said the attendant.
The couple boarded the gondola, which immediately started moving.
"I still can't get over how pretty it is out there," she said as they passed the roller coaster.
People were screaming as usually, only now they were familiar faces. Tseng and Elena were at the front of the coaster, with Barret and Jessie behind them, and Cid and Shera in the back.
Tifa then turned to face him.
"Thank you for marrying me," she said with a smile.
"Thank you for asking," he replied.
I know they said that a lot, but it never got old. At least not for them.
"Cloud," she began as they passed the chocobos, "when we got married, I honestly thought that was the closing of a book."
"The closing of a book?" he asked, perplexed.
"I thought our adventures were over," she clarified. "But I was dead wrong. God only knows what's ahead." She then started laughing. "But this is way different from the old timeline now!"
"I guess we can't always predict what comes next," Cloud observed.
"Whatever it is," she said, "I'll feel better facing it, since we're together now."
Cloud began to blush.
Tifa simply smiled and took both of his hands in hers.
"You took me as your best friend. You were fine with me proposing to you. You let me wear the pants in the marriage. You supported me running for president. And you never let the fact that I'm a woman get in the way of that."
That might have sounded silly to stress, but Tifa's gender had indeed been a big issue when she was running. Not to mention a young boy having a girl as a best friend would often result in teasing.
"A lot may be changing," Tifa said. "But my love for you won't be. I love you to the moon and back, Cloud."
"I love you, too," he replied. "Madam President."
"Kiss me," she demanded. "That's a lawful order from the president!"
They kissed passionately.
And, on cue, fireworks exploded outside the gondola.