Unexpected Love

Cloud half-smiled and nodded towards Tifa before starting out the door. Tifa returned his smile full heartedly, watching him leave and the door close behind him, before returning to washing the glasses before her. ‘He’ll be back in an hour or so’ she tried too tell herself. There was still a few more hours before the bar opened and he had promised too help her tonight since some locals were throwing a party that was expected too be a big event.

************************** Four Hours Later **************************

Tifa shook her head while putting away the last glass from the sink. She took another long look at the door and sighed before turning to the last remaining customers with a false smile. Inside she fought not too cry as her throat constricted and her eyes burned with unshed tears. Cloud had yet to return. He hadn’t called or anything. She had been left too tend too the bar on her own for the night and she was exhausted. But that wasn’t what bothered her about his not returning. What bothered her was he always did this.

She had, very daringly, kissed his lips this morning after they had a shared moment of silently staring into one another eyes while leaned very close together. She seen the moment and took it. And his reaction had not been what they show in the movies. He quickly moved away from her and retreated upstairs. Emerging a few hours later saying he was leaving for an errand and would be back in time too help her with the party.

The last time something like this happened he had been gone for three days and when he came back, things were awkward between them for over a week. It was like he avoided being around her but she would catch him watching her out the corner of her eye.

Lost in her thoughts, she poured the man on the left of her another drink. His companion had laid his head on the bar, still clutching the glass, and didn’t look to be getting up anytime soon. The place would be closing in about three more hours and then she could busy herself with cleaning up and then retiring to a hot bath and some shed tears into the pillow again.

“’Ow the ‘ell does a ‘retty gal like ya’self run a bar on yer own?” Than man asked her loudly.

Tifa smiled sweetly at the man for his compliment and merely shrugged her shoulders at his question. The man was at least 25 years older than her and had the looks of someone who was once in shape with toned muscles. But his body had long been neglected. Still hefty and strong but much more worn and aged. His sandy blonde hair was lessening around the top and the sides had turned to a pale white. His hands were small but thick. He could use a good shave as well.

“It’nt thur a male who werks here? Blonde spiked up hair?” The man asked.

“Cloud,” Tifa choked the word out. “He is out for the night.” She didn’t add that he may be “out for the night” for the next few nights.

“Hmph.” The man shook his head and turned his attention back too the glass of liquor before him.

Tifa went about her business. Grabbing a rag from the counter and dipping it in the sink of soapy water before going too wash the tables. The man continued too sit silently and drink while she wiped the tables down and gathered the trash. Just as she returned too the bar, the front door opened. Tifa’s head snapped up instantly as she watched for Cloud too come in. She sighed deeply as five men walked in the door and none of them Cloud.

Pasting on her fake smile she greeted the men as they took their seats along the bar. One of the men greeted the aged fighter like an old friend while Tifa started making the requested drinks.

The men kept drink and she kept pouring the drinks. They looked as if they had already had too much too begin with and were only getting sloppier as time ticked by. She smiled and nodded in the right places as the men told her stories of the days when they fought together in previous battles. Tifa kept adverting her gaze to the clock only too watch time tick by ungodly slow. Finally there was an hour before closing time and she decided to go ahead and start putting the chairs up and getting ready for closing. No one ever came in this late.

As she was walking around the bar too start on her task, the aged warrior grabbed her arm and tugged. The action was so fast and unexpected that Tifa actually lost balance and fell into the man with a small gasp. His hands clumsily gripped at her waist. She tried pushing back from him politely, trying too overlook his drunken actions, but the man refused too let her go. She put more force into her push so that she very roughly moved him from her and stepped back.

“Please do not grab me again or I will ask you all too leave.” She held her chin up and stayed firm as she looked at them all evenly.

“We’re just having a little fun, miss, no need too go making threats.” The younger looking of the group spoke from the far end.

The man reached for her again and this time Tifa side stepped him while popping his hand hard enough too get his attention. The man pulled his hand back quickly and looked at her sternly.

“’Ow dat was uncalled for.” He slurred too her.

“You trying to grab me is uncalled for.” She took a step towards the men. “You all are done here. Please gather your belongings and leave.”

“Or what?” One of the men asked as they all stood up and looked at her.

Not one to ever back down to anyone, Tifa stood her ground and looked at the man who had asked the question.

“Or I make you leave.”

The men looked at each other in turn before looking back too Tifa and laughing as a group. Their laughter said clearly they didn’t find her any threat.

The man reached for again, quicker and with more force this time. Tifa gripped his wrist firmly and pulled him too her, doubling over enough that his own momentum sent him sailing over her back into a near-by table. He landed with a loud thud on the floor. Tifa stood back up and moved too a fighting stance with her feet slightly spread and balanced on the balls of her feet.

The next man charged at her as if to tackle her. She swiftly moved to the right and out of his way, effectively sending him to the floor with his buddy. She moved around too keep all the men in her line of sight as she readied herself again. This time two of the men came at her at once. The second man landed a punch too her shoulder as she dodged the first mans fist before pushing off with her left leg and round-house kicking the set.

As she landed, near silently, the last man caught her off guard and delivered a blow too her stomach that had her doubling over, trying too catch her breath. He had been smarter than the rest. Waiting until the moment when she was distracted and then sneaking in a damaging blow. He was the younger looking one of the group and also the one who still had semi toned muscles.

As Tifa tried to catch her breath two of the men grabbed her from behind and held her firmly while the younger man delivered yet another blow to her body. This one catching her ribs instead.

Tifa gasped in pain before pushing off the ground with her feet again and kicking out towards the man as he came in for another hit. The two men holding her supported her weight as she put everything she had into the kick. Sending the man back a few feet from them and into another of the tables.

When she had kicked the man, she used the rest of the energy to push herself up so that she effective twisted from the men holding her and did a back flip to land behind them. Her right leg coming out on instinct too kick the man closest too her. But she never made contact. The other two men had gotten up and one of them caught and held her leg a split second before the other three jumped her.

The men landed some painful blows too her body as she returned her own painful blows too them. After what seemed like ten minutes but was probably no more than a few minutes, two of the guys lie unmoving while she held one by the hand, ready too sling him into his friend on her right. The man on her left jumped her from behind and his body weight added too her already hurt and bruised ribs caused her to fall face first too the floor. She didn’t have time too turn her head from the impact and moaned at the pain that erupted from her nose hitting the hard floor. She felt the blood start pouring just as one of the men rolled her over. Her vision blurred from the pain in her nose, Tifa swung her fists in front of her trying to hit the men but it was useless.

Finally one of her hands touched one of the men and she gripped with everything she had left. Her visions started returning and she seen she had one of the men by the throat. He tried relentlessly to break her hold and finally one of his buddies started trying too pry her hands from the mans throat while the other kicked her in the rubs hard. She reached out with her other hand to hit the man’s ankle, sending him off balance so that he toppled onto the floor beside her.

A noise at the front door drew all of their attention. Tifa couldn’t see well still. Not that it helped from this position. All she could see was the dark blur of what looked like boots. Hoping that Cloud had returned, Tifa struggled to get a better look with no such luck.

One of the men let out a bellow of pain and landed across Tifa’s legs as something hard started raining down on her. The man she had been holding by the throat was yanked from her hand and thrown across the room. She stood up quickly and shook her head to clear her vision. Just as she started seeing clearer a hand gripped her shoulder. Instinctively, she turned to hit who ever had touched her only to have her hand caught and pushed back slightly.

Panting, Tifa stood and looked at the man who had helped her. His crimson eyes were alight with the after effects of fighting. The red cape moving around him to an unseen current and his face hidden behind the buckles to his chin and the red bandana made him look menacing. Tifa gave him a small smile before turning too examine the room around them.

The men were strewn about. Most unconscious but one of them was huddled near a table, nursing a blood nose and pulling splinters from his hand. Another sat near by just looking around the room as if stunned.

“Grab your friends and get out. You’re not welcome here anymore. None of you.” Tifa ignored the blood running from her own nose as she looked at the man nursing his bleeding nose.

The two mean scurried too gather their friends up and Tifa watched as they made the trips in and out too get their buddies and leave. Finally they were gone and she turned back towards the bar. She snorted to herself as she seen the passed out man still sleeping on the bar before turning back to look at Vincent.

“Thank you, Vincent.”

He didn’t say anything. Just nodded his head towards her before making his way behind the bar and grabbing one of the dampened towels that didn’t look dirty. He returned too Tifa and held it out to her. She took the cloth and started wiping at her nose, careful not to touch the tender appendage. She turned back too Vincent in time too see him walk out the front door. She watched the door for a moment longer before walking too the bar and pulling out a bottle of liquor, taking a long deep swallow of the burning liquid.

The front door opened again and she turned too watch Vincent re enter the bar, a small case in his hand. He walked silently to the bar and sat down in one of the barstools, motioning for Tifa to come too him. Tifa walked around the bar and stopped in front of him, glancing at the case he had set on the bar too see it was a first aid kit.

He opened the case wordlessly, looked for a moment, grabbed something, and then held it out too her. Tifa took it and realized it was a healing concoction. Downing the bitter tasting liquid, she closed her eyes. Until cool hands gripped her wrist. She opened her eyes too see Vincent wiping at the blood on her arm with a cotton ball. She let him clean her wounds and bandage them up because arguing him on the point, or any point for that matter, was useless. And it beat the hell out of her trying to do it herself with the way her ribs were feeling.

“Isn’t Cloud around in case something like this happens?” Vincent finally broke the silence.

“He had something too do and this has never happened before so I figured I could handle it for one night.”

“Glad I decided to stop by.” He looked up at her with a half-smiled. “Even if you would have had the situation under control on your own, went faster with me helping.”

“Which brings me too my question.” Tifa took a deep breath as the cleaning solution burned slightly. “Why are you here?”

She thought about that question a second.

“Not that I am not happy you showed up or anything. Just curious what brings you this way.”

“Couldn’t sleep, thought I’d take a ride around and passed the place, seen you still had cars out front and the lights were. Decided too turn around and come back too see some familiar faces.”

Tifa jumped and pulled back from him as his hands slid her shirt up too just below her breast line. His crimson eyes raised too meet her deep brown eyes as he held the roll of body tape before him.

“My apologies. I was engorged in what I was doing and did not mean too offend you.”

“I know Vincent. It just startled me. That’s all.”

Tifa stepped back up to Vincent, this time pulling her shirt up to her breast line for him. His eyes lingered on hers as if unsure for a moment longer before returning too his previous task. Occasionally she would feel the brush of his cool hands as he wrapped her ribs in the bandage. The touch wasn’t sexual, even when the tops of his knuckles brushed the underside of her sensitive breast as her wrapped higher up. She suppressed a shiver but his movements were not sexual. As far as he was concerned, she could have just been a doll he was dressing up.

Finally finished, he started repacking the kit and Tifa moved to sit in the bar stool next too him while pulling the bottle of liquor closer.

“Care for a drink?” She twirled the bottle towards him as he turned too face her.

“Sure,” He looked pointedly at the man passed out on the bar. “One won’t hurt.”

Tifa turned to look at the man and smiled.

“Jason here has had too much too drink. Would you mind helping me get him upstairs to one of the spare rooms? He obviously is in no state to drive himself home.”

“Tell me what room and I shall take him up there. You can lock the door and close down for the night. I will help you clean this mess up before I go.”

Tifa gave him directions too one of the rooms and Vincent nodded before picking Jason up like a child and carrying him up the stairs. Tifa smiled and was still slightly shocked that such a small framed man could be so strong. She turned around to examine the damage done too the bar and sighed. It was going too take her all night too clean this up. She couldn’t ask Vincent too stay. It wasn’t his place too clean up her mess.