Author's note: This used to be posted as part of A Time Like This. I'm reposting these as separate stories instead, because I'm updating them out of order and sometimes simultaneously.

Cloud sat at the small table in the kitchen of Cid and Shera's apartment in Junon. Cid had been making regular trips between the continents with the airship ever since a cure for Geostigma had been established in the ruins of Midgar. The World Regenesis Organization was working toward a distribution method, but until then, Cid ferried people back and forth the best he could. Junon was the easiest place to dock the airship, so he often spent a few nights in the city while those seeking the cure found other transportation to and from Midgar. Given how often he visited the city, it had made sense for Shera and him to get a small apartment there. Shera, now cured of the disease herself, travelled with him when she could.

Cloud was on the tail end of a weeklong circuit gathering supplies and making deliveries in the Eastern Continent. It was the longest he had made since his Geostigma had been cured and he had started living with Tifa and the kids again. Junon was his last stop. He was staying with Cid and Shera for the night and heading back in the morning.

Shera was out shopping, leaving the two men to catch up. A slowly warming beer sat in front of him while he listened to Cid ramble. Cid, on the other hand, had set an empty beer aside and was working on his second. Cloud tried to pay attention to the story Cid was telling him. He was distracted, thinking about Tifa and the kids. If he got an early enough start tomorrow, he might make it home before Denzel and Marlene were in bed.

Through the window, he could see the airship docked in the distance. He bit back a smile. Marlene and Denzel would press him for details about the Shera. They had been obsessed with it ever since Cid had flown in their friends to help in the assault on the city almost two months ago. The kids had even negotiated a sleepover on the airship on its last night in Edge. It was all they could talk about for days.

Cloud wanted to get back to Tifa as well. He called home every day while he was traveling. A new habit. He was working on establishing better ones. Their conversations were brief, but they carried Cloud through the lonely days on the road. It was a routine he could get used to, hearing Tifa's soft voice recount her day until she gave into one of the children and passed the phone along.

They did not talk about anything deeper than the mundane details of their days in those brief phone calls. But Cloud still felt the unspoken tension, even from miles away. They were working on the rifts in their relationship, rendered from Cloud leaving and their own, individual hangups from their pasts. It was not, Cloud worried, going very well.

"Hey, you even listening to this?" Cid barked.

Cloud started. "Yeah, I'm listening."

He took a swig of his beer, trying not to grimace at its lukewarm temperature.

"Alright then, what do you think I should tell Reeve?" Cid asked.

Cloud blinked. Cid laughed and downed the rest of his drink.

"I'm just messing with ya," he said, slapping Cloud on the back. "I know your mind was somewhere else."

"Sorry," Cloud replied.

Cid shrugged, unbothered. Cloud remembered something Tifa had told him once, when he asked her how she could stand listening to people jabber on and on when she was working at the bar. Some people want to talk to you, she said. Most just want to talk at you. It doesn't really matter if you're listening that closely. They just need a smile and a nod.

He had not called Tifa yet that day. He wondered if the bar had been very busy. Supplies were low, which was one of the reasons he had taken the extended trip. Tifa could do no wrong as far as her regulars were concerned, but he still hoped no one had given her trouble about Seventh Heaven's limited offerings.

"How are things with Tifa?"

Cloud jumped at the question. "What? Why?"

Cid was not annoyed with him before, but now he pointed at finger at him and glared.

"Don't sit here at my table, wasting my beer, and bullshit to my face," he said, poking Cloud in the chest for emphasis. "Whenever you get that dopey mopey look on your face, there's only one person who it could be about."

Cloud took another gulp of his beer, looking away to hide his flush. He did not want to talk about Tifa with Cid. He did not know how to talk about Tifa with Cid. Because of Marlene, Barret knew Tifa and Cloud had gone through ups and downs, to say the least. He knew how Cloud had left Tifa and the kids. The others sensed there had been issues, but as far as Cloud knew, were unaware of the details. Cloud was not eager to provide them.

Cid sighed and got up from the table. He rustled around in a cabinet, procuring a glass bottle of amber liquid and two glasses. He poured a small amount in each glass, before plunking them on the table.

"We need something a little stronger for this conversation, eh?" he said, toasting Cloud.

The two men drank. Cid slammed his empty glass on his table and gave Cloud with a serious look.

"Listen," Cid said. "It's no secret that Shera and I have been through some shit. And it's mostly been my fault."

He waved his hand around.

"I know, I know. It takes two to tango and all that. But at the end of the day, I was a real shithead and it was on me to make things right with her."

Cloud listened intently. It was true, what Cid was saying. The entire team had been brought along for the rocky ride of Shera and Cid's relationship. Not to the same extent that everyone nosed their way into Tifa and Cloud's, but still. It had taken Cid and Shera a long time to get to where they were now.

"So?" Cid raised an eyebrow at him. "If you can tell anyone, you can tell me. I won't judge. How'd ya fuck up?"

Cid leaned back and crossed his arms, waiting for a response. Cloud avoided his eyes, staring instead into his glass. But, to his own surprise, he started talking. Even more surprising, he found that he wanted to talk about it.

So, he told Cid all of it. He confessed how being happy with Tifa had scared the hell out of him, so he withdrew. He had been certain he did not deserve it. How he found out he had Geostigma and, not wanting to be a burden, fled. All the mistakes he made because of his guilt, his inability to save Aerith and Zack. He tried to protect Tifa and the kids from his own inadequacies, but only ended up hurting them in the end.

"And now…" Cloud sighed. "We're trying. I'm trying."

Cid nodded and tipped the bottle into both of their glasses. He handed Cloud's to him authoritatively and jerked his head at him, compelling him to down it. He watched until Cloud's glass was empty before draining his own.

"And how's that going?" Cid prompted.

"We've been…" Cloud searched for the word. "Disconnected."

Cid nodded sympathetically. "Ah, well it takes time."

He refilled their glasses.

"It takes time," Cid continued. "You gotta work at it every day, you know what I'm saying? Really prove that things have changed. Make amends."

"I've told her how sorry I am," Cloud said. "For all of it. I keep saying-"

Cid slammed his glass down mid sip, cutting him off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said. "Apologies are good. But that won't cut it."

He poured the rest of his drink into Cloud's.

"You can only act like a sad, sorry puppy for so long," Cid said, bluntly. "Women love a puppy. They'll pat them on their heads, give them a little cuddle."

"And that's bad?" Cloud asked, not following.

"Do you wanna fuck a puppy?"

Cloud was used to vulgarity from Cid but he still, he choked on his drink.

"The hell, Cid?! No, I don't want to-"

"My point exactly. Neither does Tifa."

Cloud said nothing in reply. Cid seemed satisfied and topped off each of their glasses. He held it up and Cloud clinked it unenthusiastically. They both threw the liquid back. Cloud coughed at the burn. Cid pounded him on the back with a fist.

"So. You've been disconnected. Have you two…" Cid wiggled his eyebrows. "Since you came back and made up?"

They had. Cid, studying Cloud, chuckled at his reluctance and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Well, how was it?"

Cloud gave Cid a look. He was not having this conversation with Cid.

"I'm not asking for details! Just, ya know. How was it?"

It had been good. Amazing. Earth shattering, actually.

It was their friends' last night in Edge. Everyone had stayed at Seventh Heaven for a couple nights, celebrating the cure for Geostigma and being together again. But Cid wanted to get an early start back the next day. He insisted they all sleep on the Highwind that night, not trusting them to move quickly enough in the morning.

Marlene and Denzel were desperate to go too. They had been enchanted by all their friends. They sat next to Nanaki on the floor, leaning against him and hoovering their hands over the flame of his tail. Yuffie, they chased around the house, goading her and screaming with glee when they managed to rile her to the point of chasing them back. Marlene carried Cait around like a doll. And they both watched Vincent with round, awed eyes.

And Cid had an airship. They asked him a thousand questions about it. They wanted to know how fast it was. How high it went. How did Cid tell it which way to go? Once they latched onto an interest, Marlene and Denzel were unstoppable.

They were devastated that their new friends would be leaving. Even worse, they would all be flying away on the airship without them. It was Marlene's idea that they might sleep on the airship with them, just one night. Marlene had hardly needed to blink her big brown eyes at Barret before he had agreed to it. He was reluctant to leave and was helpless to deny her anything. Barret promised to keep an eye on her and Denzel that night if Cloud and Tifa were okay with it and would come get them in the morning.

Tifa was hesitant to let Denzel go at first. He had not spent a night away from them since coming to their home. He had been too sick. At first, Tifa suggested that perhaps she could come too. Marlene insisted, though, that it would not be a true sleepover if Cloud and Tifa were there. Denzel's smile, in anticipation of the adventure, had lit up his entire face. Tifa agreed. The children cheered.

Seventh Heaven was so quiet once everyone left that night that Cloud could hear his own heartbeat. Tifa had walked them all out, waving from the doorway until she could no longer see them. When she closed and locked the door behind her, she had taken two uncertain steps into the living room towards Cloud.

He could not say which of them first reached for the other. Suddenly, they were kissing, Cloud's hands tangled in Tifa's hair and hers slipped under his shirt. They were starved for one another. Somehow, they managed to stumble up the stairs. Unable to wait, they stopped in the hallway. Cloud lifted Tifa against the wall and her legs wrapped around him. Dimly, he heard a picture frame crash to the floor.

They made it to the bed, barely. Cloud carried Tifa through the door, and they fell onto it gracelessly. What clothing remained was torn off, flung haphazardly to the floor. Tifa clutched at Cloud impatiently, and he complied with her unspoken demand. No matter the distance that had been between them before, their bodies remembered one another. They moved against one another in perfect synchrony, as if they had never spent even a single night apart.

After, they both were winded, trembling from the force of it. Cloud moved carefully off of Tifa and she curled sweetly into his shoulder. Her fingers lightly caressed his arm, the skin now smooth and unmarred by disease.

It was then that their idyllic reunion unraveled.

Suddenly, Tifa made a sound. A choked sort of gasp. Startled, Cloud turned toward her, only to realize she was crying. No, she was sobbing. She could not catch her breath. Tifa pushed away from him and clutched her knees to her chest. Even through her tears, Tifa's face was horrified.

"I'm so- sorry," she managed. "I can't seem to-"

Tifa pressed her face into her hands, hiding it from Cloud. Her pale skin was red and blotchy, overheated. His hand hovered behind her back, unsure what to do, when she made a sad little sound that cut straight to his heart. It jolted Cloud from his stupor. He stood up and took Tifa firmly by the shoulders, guiding her down the hall to the bathroom.

"Sit," he directed softly.

He sat her in the shower, propping her back against the cool tile. Tifa always kept a basket of clean washcloths out and Cloud grabbed one now, dampening it with cold water from the tap. Carefully, he pulled Tifa's long hair to the side and placed the cool rag on her neck. He sat on soft bathmat next to the shower anxiously. Slowly, her cries softened to hiccups.

Still struggling to regulate her breathing, Tifa lifted her head from her knees. She was mortified.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know where that came from."

It was a lie. Both of them were acutely aware of the weeks of pushed down feelings between them. Cloud did not reply, but only pushed her hair out of her face, doing his best not to crowd her. Tifa would not meet his eyes.

"I'm um…I think I'm going to take a shower."

Cloud stayed by her side, watching her with concern. When she realized he was not leaving, she finally met his eyes again. Hers were swollen and pink. She gave him a shaky, false smile. He hated it almost more than the sound of her crying.

"I'm okay, really," she said. "It'll help. I just need a minute."

Cid cleared his throat, bringing Cloud back to the present.

"It was good," Cloud said shortly. "After, not so much."

"You all fought?" Cid asked knowingly.

Cloud shook his head. "She cried."

"Cried, huh?" Cid was trying very hard not to smile. "Well uh, that happens sometimes, right?"

It did happen. But this was different. Cloud shook his head darkly.

"Not like this it doesn't," he said.

Cid paused, processing.

"And you haven't since?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Obviously not."

Since then, Cloud had been more careful with Tifa. He tried to be sensitive to her emotions, to give her space when she needed it. But since that night, they had been out of synch. It distressed them both, but Cloud was at a loss for what to do about it. They had been orbiting around one another for weeks now, neither of them initiating intimacy.

Cloud thought about the last time they laid in bed together, bare skin pressed close.

While Tifa showered, Cloud paced around the bedroom restlessly. He picked up their clothes, tossing them in the hamper. Retrieved the fallen picture frame from the ground so it could be rehung later. Put fresh sheets on the bed. He kept listening for the sound of the shower to stop running. He could not relax until he knew Tifa was alright.

After a while, he gave up and laid back down, resolved that Tifa would come back when she was ready. And she did. Her footsteps as she tentatively approached the bed were barely audible. She slipped under the covers and lightly looped her arm around Cloud from behind. Her skin was cool and clean smelling.

Cloud wanted very badly to turn around and look at her. But Tifa pressed her face between his shoulder blades. Despite the shower, he could feel the sticky remnant of tears on her cheeks. He could tell she was embarrassed. She did not like to lose control of her emotions in front of anyone, even him. Not like that anyways. Cloud held her hand against him instead, lightly stroking the old scars on her knuckles.

"Sorry," she whispered into his back.

"Don't be," he said quickly. "I'm the one who should be. I'm so-"

Her sigh was warm against his back. "You don't have to keep saying it, Cloud. I know."

Maybe Cid had a point.

Cid patted his shoulder sympathetically and laid another shot on the table. Cloud threw it back. It still burned, but he began to feel looser. The sharp ache of the memory felt fuzzier around the edges.

"Well then, let's talk strategy."

Cloud managed not to choke on the alcohol, but he did at these words.

"Not interested," he said, coughing.

Cid rolled his eyes. "You want to reconnect, right? Let's talk about wooing her back, then.

Cloud fiddled with the glass on the table, not meeting Cid's eyes. He did not say no. Encouraged, Cid continued.

"Women want to be romanced," he emphasized. "What have you done for her lately that's romantic?"

Cloud scoffed. "Tifa and I aren't like that. Not really."

Cid was having none of it.

"Sure ya are," he said, punching Cloud's arm and earning a glare. "Don't act like I haven't spent time around you two. It was enough to have me puking off the deck of the Highwind with Yuffie."

Cloud continued staring at his glass without speaking. Cid made a frustrated sound.

"Come on, Cloud, talk to me! Promise I won't laugh."

Cid grabbed the bottle and poured them another. His pours were becoming increasingly unmeasured, so unlike Tifa's precision. He held his glass up solemnly and Cloud clinked his glass to Cid's again. This one went down easily. Easy peasey, Cloud thought. Shots, talking about Tifa. No problem.

"Okay," Cid said brusquely. "Let's start with gifts. You bring her anything?

Cloud thought about it. "I brought her a flower."

"A flower?" Cid repeated. "Like a bouquet?"

"No, just one."

Cid cleared his throat, his face carefully neutral. "Alright a flower. Did she like it?"

Cloud considered the question. Tifa had liked the flower. She had kept it in a vase in the original Seventh Heaven, had even looked up its name and meaning. Tifa had smiled and blushed. She said-

"She said it was sweet," Cloud confessed, his face falling. "Do you think she meant sweet…like a puppy?"

Cid shook his head vigorously.

"Nah, nah. We can work with sweet!" he reassured Cloud. "So when was this? Did you bring it to her after the whole, um, crying thing?"

"No," Cloud replied. "It was back in Midgar."

"Midgar," Cid repeated. "You mean Edge?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, Midgar. Sector Seven. Before the plate fell."

Cid pinched the bridge of his nose. Cloud watched him blankly. This time, Cid eschewed glasses and took a swig directly from the bottle. He handed it to Cloud who drank it down with equal pith.

"Have you brought her anything recently? Ya know, more recently than over two years ago?"

Cloud nodded. "Of course. I bring her things all the time. Dried mushrooms from Gongaga. Salt from Cosmo Canyon."

"Mush-" Cid wheezed, then stopped.

"You said you wouldn't laugh," Cloud reminded him, embarrassed by the sulk in his voice. "Hey wait! I brought Denzel home to her. She said it was the most wonderful-"

Cid cut him off. "Please spare me. He's a great kid and you're a happy family. Blah di dah."

He waved his hand emphatically and knocked the bottle. Cloud caught it before it tipped over. It felt lighter than he expected.

"We both know that's not what I'm talking about," Cid continued. "Bringing home children isn't exactly going to make her wanna drop her-"

"Hey!"

Cid cringed apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. Forgot we were talking about Tifa."

He grabbed the bottle from Cloud.

"Okay fine, let's talk nice words. Compliments. Do you tell her when she's looking beautiful?"

"Tifa always looks beautiful," Cloud said automatically.

Cid rolled his eyes at him. "Okay and do you tell her?"

"Sometimes. Usually? I think so?"

Cloud's head was starting to spin a bit. He did tell Tifa she was beautiful, right? Yes, he was certain he had. Definitely during sex. And other times too. He was pretty sure. Cloud nodded at Cid confidently. His brain sloshed against his skull.

"Okay!" Cid said hopefully. "Good. That's good. Compliments are good."

Cid nodded sagely and toasted to Cloud. Cloud toasted back, not remembering when Cid had refilled their glasses. They drank.

"So what ya gotta do when you give compliments," Cid said, grabbing Cloud's shoulder and leaning in conspiratorially. "Is be pacific. Ps- ps- specific."

Cid belched. Cloud nodded vigorously. How did Cid know this? He wondered if he should start taking notes. He always kept meticulous notes of his delivery routes. Cloud looked around for a pen.

Cid snapped his fingers at him. "Hey, pay attention!"

He pointed the bottle at Cloud for emphasis. A very small amount of liquid swilled around the bottom.

"What spec- spa- fically does she do that you love? And don't get weird!"

He laughed, and the look on his face suggested to Cloud that he did want it to get weird. Cloud looked away from him, thinking. His head was really starting to feel soupy, thoughts swirling around in his brain. Soupy, like the stews Tifa made. Mushroom and rice was his favorite. Tifa made good stews. Cloud sighed. Tifa.

"Well," Cloud said, leaning in. "There is this one thing."

Cid raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

Cloud rested an elbow on the table and propped up his chin. His head felt heavy. He let his vision go a little fuzzy as he stared across the kitchen, thinking about Tifa.

"Whenever I come home," Cloud started. "You know, from like a delivery? And sometimes it's been kind of a long time. But sometimes just a few hours or something. Tifa's at home. And when I see her-"

He stopped, staring off into the distance, remembering. Cloud wished he were home now. He sighed wistfully.

"What?!" Cid asked. "She what?!"

Cloud sighed again.

"She always looks right at me. Her eyes are just- well you know, they're Tifa's eyes. And she smiles."

He stopped gazing off into the distance and found Cid staring at him, jaw slightly slack. Cloud looked at him intently, trying to make him understand.

"It's like her smile, you know what I mean? But not just the same smile. It's her smile, but it's my smile. It's like her smile but for me smile?"

Cloud scrunched his face. That seemed clear enough.

"Yeah. So I'd say sp- specifically, I like it when I come home and she's Tifa. And she looks at me. With her eyes. And my smile." Cloud paused to hiccup. "Her smile."

He nodded to finish his speech, pleased with himself. Cid groaned and let his head fall to the table.

"I'm done," he said helplessly. "I can't do this."

He put his hands dramatically over his ears. Cloud frowned at him, befuddled. I thought I was doing a good job?

A loud sniff caused them to turn around toward the door. Shera was hovering in the door, arms full of shopping bags. Neither of them had heard her come in. Her eyes looked damp.

"Oh Cloud," she said. "That was sweet. I didn't know you were such a romantic."

Cloud turned back around to Cid triumphantly. His chair protested at the motion, tilting sideways on two legs. Cloud waved an arm to regain his balance. It did not help. Instead, he knocked the nearly empty bottle off the table and fell out of his chair. Cid howled with laughter.

Shera was horrified. "Cid, what did you do to him?!"

"Now wait a damn minute! I didn't do anything to him. I've been helping him!" Cid was indignant.

Cloud laid on his back for a bit, rather like a turtle. The floor was spinning, just a little. Cid and Shera bickered somewhere above him. Smiling Cloud rested his head on the carpet. Maybe Cid did not have all the answers.

Shera, with Cid's help, reestablished Cloud at the table. She confiscated their bottle, although it seemed pointless given how little was left, and placed glasses of water in front of them. Rolling her eyes, she left the two men to it while she unloaded her shopping in the connecting room.

Cloud's voice carried through the open door. Cid seemed to have unleashed some sort of floodgate in the poor man. The usually reticent Cloud was talking more than she had ever heard him talk. Granted, she could not follow half of what he was saying. It was not surprising, given the amount of alcohol the two of them had consumed.

He was currently in the middle of some story that had a very circular plot. A circular plot that Cloud had circled at least three times already. Certainly, Shera had already heard this exact description of how Tifa's arms looked when she mixed a drink. Cid was listening to him with his eyes half open, somehow managing to snore lightly while still awake.

Idiots, Shera thought, but fondly. She was not thrilled with Cid. But he had tempered her irritation when he pulled her aside, leaning in urgently to explain himself.

"Cloud needed this, Shera," he had whispered. "He's been having a hard time with-"

He gestured, searching for the right word. Cid looked over his should to check if Cloud was listening. He seemed to be holding onto the floor, as if afraid he might slide off it.

"Relationship stuff," Cid finished, winking with both of his eyes.

Poor Cloud, Shera thought. She reconsidered. Poor Tifa. She was a little afraid of what advice Cloud might have received from Cid after two beers and a bottle of liquor. She would talk to Cloud before he left in the morning. If he was still among the living.

A muffled buzzing distracted Shera from her thoughts. She looked around, frowning. It was coming from one of her shopping bags, on the shelf right outside the guest bedroom. Shera lifted the bag and realized she had placed it on top of a phone. She peeked at the caller. It was Tifa.

Holding the phone, Shera looked over to Cloud and Cid. Cloud was now making an odd motion behind his head with one arm. He was clearly back to the part of the story that had something to do with how Tifa's hair moved when she titled her head. Shaking her head, Shera quietly slipped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She answered the phone.

"Cloud? Are you there?"

Tifa's voice on the other end was worried. Shera winced. She had not exactly planned what she would say, but she knew Cloud could not be trusted with the phone right now.

"Um, no," she replied. "Hi. It's, uh, Shera, actually."

"Oh," Tifa said, surprised. Then, her voice turned anxious. "Is Cloud there? Is everything-"

"Everything is fine!" Shera said quickly.

There was a loaded pause. Shera sighed. There was really no way of getting around it.

"Cid and Cloud, um. They may have overindulged. A bit. Maybe."

Another stretch of silence as the words sunk in.

"They're drunk," Tifa said. "Cloud can't talk because he's drunk?"

Her voice was disbelieving and unimpressed.

"It's not his fault," Shera defended him quickly.

She was not entirely sure why. Perhaps because the way he described Tifa, albeit drunken, had been so lovely. And because of how sad his voice had been when he told her that he wanted Tifa, while Shera and Cid tried to get him to sit upright in his chair. He had been pathetic, in a sort of sweet way. Kind of like a puppy.

"It's Cid's fault, really," Shera explained. "He knows Cloud doesn't really drink."

Tifa snorted. "Cloud's an adult, Shera. An adult who lives on top of a bar. He should know how to handle himself around alcohol."

Shera persisted.

"Cid was trying to cheer Cloud up is all," she said. "He just went a little overboard."

"Cheer him up?" Tifa asked.

The anxious note had returned to her voice. Shera felt a pang of sympathy. She knew more than most people what it was like to love someone who struggled to be happy. To worry, that perhaps, he struggled to be happy with her. Or because of her.

"Yes," Shera affirmed, gently. "I imagine being away from home after everything that happened is hard for him, don't you think?"

A pause.

"I know he doesn't like to leave the kids…" Tifa started.

Shera restrained herself from sighing into the phone. She almost wished she had not poured the sad remnants of the liquor down the sink. She was beginning to understand Cid's approach.

"He misses you," Shera said bluntly. "He really hates being away from you. Cid was trying to get him to open up about it."

And boy, was he successful, Shera thought wryly. In the other room, Cloud's voice reached a volume Shera had never heard from the man before. She covered the mouthpiece of the phone and moved away from the door.

"He said all that?" Tifa asked in a small voice.

Well, not in those exact words. Shera would have had some difficulty replicating the exact words, slurred and convoluted as they were. Besides, she would be up all night on the phone if she had to recount the various ways Cloud missed Tifa's eyes, smile, hair, and arms. Shera figured that her more concise version was accurate enough.

"Mmhmm," she replied, vaguely.

"Alright. I'll talk to him in the morning then," Tifa relented. A brief pause. "I'm going to guess that he won't be getting an early start?"

There was a hint of laughter in Tifa's question and Shera relaxed.

"I'll tell whatever is left of him to give you a call when he's up and sober," Shera promised.

At that, Tifa responded with a genuine giggle.

"Please do," she said.