Aftermath

Author’s Note: Main warnings are language, WAFF, and emotional plot advancement. Sorry, no smut in this one. (Which, by the way, if any of you are expecting smut in every chapter of this fic by now, I'm gonna have to beat you with a wet noodle.) In case anyone is curious, this is the longest chapter I've added yet, weighing in at over 5500 words. Ok, carry on. ^^;

Thank you to...
- Youkofox, for your beta read through. You are the fastest beta I've ever had! ^^
- kamizuki, for your review. More Tifa and Cloud interaction coming up!
- Squallfan, for your review. You know, I let them have more fun than most interuptions would have allowed. *laugh* I wonder if that was a good idea...
- Iggy Lovechild, for your review and smut-check on the last chapter. It's appreciated. Rude just had his 15 minutes of fame I think. Maybe I'll give him another 15 in a bit. I think he handles the spotlight well.
- Mirel, for your review. Wait no longer... ^_^

☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺

Chapter 10: Admitting

“What do you think?”

Vincent shook his head. The dark-haired man had been staring at the scraps of paper in his hand for the last few minutes in silence. Scribbled on the paper, in Cloud’s barely legible handwriting, were both of the addresses that had been on the box of drug-laced cigarettes that had found its way to Cloud’s delivery service.

“You sure you wrote the addresses down right?”

Cloud nodded, feeling a bit perplexed about the situation they were now in. First, they’d discovered that the return address was nothing more than a giant hole in the top plate. Now they had just confirmed that the recipient address was a street number that didn’t even exist. Cloud watched Vincent, hoping his friend would be able to figure out what was going on.

“I can’t believe both of these addresses are dead ends,” Cloud said. “Why would a crime boss pay for me to deliver a package that goes nowhere?”

The building that should have been street number 211 was missing. On the left side of the street, they’d been lucky and found both buildings labeled 209 and 213, but oddly, there was no space in between for a 211. It was as if whoever had designed and numbered the block had forgotten to put this number in. Cloud couldn’t decide if it seemed deliberate or if it was accidental. Either way, it seemed too coincidental that he had been tasked to deliver a package to a building that may not have ever existed.

“It feels like a trap,” Vincent said slowly, his hand floating above his holstered gun, “but there’s no one here waiting for us.”

Cloud glanced up and down the street, studying their surroundings. This block had faired better than other parts of the sector, but nothing was livable. Everything was broken and destroyed. Large structures were hollowed and sooty from fires that had burned out long ago; it was deathly quiet here, the only stirring of life came from the wind that wound itself around them. Cloud winced and ducked his nose into his sweater as the wind gusted suddenly, causing dust to pelt across his face.

“Maybe it’s a distraction,” Cloud said. “Like a wild goose chase.”

“But why?” Vincent said. “It might help us figure it out if we knew why Rude and Reno were up here.”

“Oh,” Cloud said, clearing his throat uncomfortably at Vincent’s sudden mention of Reno. “I did ask.”

“And?”

“I think they were looking for Seneco,” Cloud said. “Reno said something about Shinra wanting to get rid of him.”

Vincent’s expression blanked and he looked like he was lost deep in thought. Cloud waited patiently, wondering if maybe Vincent’s past experience as a Turk might help them understand the situation better.

“Judging by the fact that they didn’t appear to be causing much of a disturbance, I’d guess they were on some kind of intelligence gathering mission.”

“Reno did say they got whatever they had come for,” Cloud said, remembering bits and pieces of the argument the two Turks had been having in front of them.

“I wonder what sort of information they were after,” Vincent said. “Did Reno make any mention of the drugs?”

“No,” Cloud said, feeling a little embarrassed for his lack of thorough questioning. “I didn’t really get into the details.”

“That’s too bad,” Vincent said.

Vincent paused. He shook his head.

“Maybe it was just a mistake,” Vincent said, his voice low as he thought out loud. “Or maybe…”

Vincent looked down the street, his head tilted slightly upward and Cloud followed his gaze. He was staring at one of the old mako reactors that towered above everything else; a distant expression lingered on his face.

“Can you see it?”

“See what?”

“There’s a faint green glow coming from that northern reactor,” Vincent said.

Cloud strained his eyes, looking for any hint of discoloration in the air around the reactor. While his vision was good, he had to admit that he couldn’t see the aura his friend was talking about.

“I can’t see it,” Cloud said.

“It’s more visible at night,” Vincent said quietly.

Vincent stopped speaking, continuing to gaze off into the distance. Cloud knew that his friend was withdrawing from him, probably lamenting the fact that he was so different from everyone else. Vincent had told him numerous times that his differences were deserved punishments and that he was paying for the sins of his past, but Cloud often thought that much of Vincent’s inner turmoil was self-inflicted. Vincent was a valued friend and he deserved forgiveness just as much as everyone else did.

Cloud reached up, clutching Vincent’s arm gently, “It’s not your fault.”

Vincent looked at him, hiding his face behind his cloak. Cloud could see the self-torment reflecting clearly in Vincent’s eyes and it threatened to break his heart. He hoped that Vincent would be able to let go of his pain someday, but he knew from personal experience that it wouldn’t be easy; Cloud had been dealing with similar issues for a long time.

“You understand me too well,” Vincent said, his tone almost a whisper.

Cloud let his hand drop to his side, feeling a bit useless; he just didn’t have any other words of wisdom to share. As if he could sense Cloud’s desire to help make things better, Vincent’s expression immediately softened toward Cloud and a faint resolve crept gradually back into his eyes. Cloud looked back at the reactor, debating whether or not he wanted to go investigate.

“Should we go check it out?”

“We probably don’t have time,” Vincent said. “It’s getting close to six o’clock.”

Cloud saw the faint sparkle of amusement flash in his friend’s eyes before he turned away from him. Vincent was very subtly reminding him that he had already made other plans for the night with Tifa. He pulled out his cell phone to check and see what time it was; the hours had been flying by faster than he realized.

“I guess whatever the hell is going on up here will just have to wait,” Cloud said.

Cloud and Vincent drove back to the 7th Heaven in silence on his bike. Vincent never held onto him when they rode together. The man seemed to have perfect balance and other than securing his feet, he never really needed any support at all. Cloud wasn’t surprised. He imagined he’d be much the same if he ever had to ride bitch on someone else’s bike.

It’s not that he would have minded if Vincent needed to grab onto him to steady himself, but given his recent encounters with Reno, he was starting to be very observant of exactly how someone was behaving behind him when he gave them a ride on Fenrir. Reno by far, had been the most clingy, touching him at every opportunity. At least he knew why now.

As they entered the bar, Tifa had a wide smile for both of them. Cloud removed his sword and harness, hanging it up in a closet near the door. Marlene was lying on the floor coloring quietly. The little child looked up in surprise as Vincent and Cloud walked through the door. She dropped her coloring pencils and squealed with delight at seeing them.

“Cloud!”

She ran excitedly to him, wrapping her arms around his legs. He picked her up with one hand, and she rested her head against his shoulder.

“Tifa let me color in her books today,” she said proudly.

Cloud glanced at Tifa, who was still smiling. A brief understanding passed between them, that Marlene had been especially good today and had been appropriately rewarded.

“Oh, really?” Cloud said. “Let me see.”

Marlene squirmed in his arms and he gently lowered her back to the floor. She skipped over to get her coloring book, bringing it over to him obediently. Cloud pulled a chair from one of the tables and sat down in it as Marlene scrambled up into his lap and opened the book to the pages she had colored.

“Did you want to show Vincent, too?” Cloud said. Marlene nodded, looking at Vincent shyly. “He’s going to watch you tonight for a little bit while Tifa and I go out. He likes to color too, I bet.”

Vincent hovered above them, unbuttoning the top of his cloak a bit making his face more visible. He chuckled at hearing Cloud’s words. Cloud looked up at him hopefully, trying to gauge whether or not he would be comfortable watching Marlene by himself. They’d never really left her alone with Vincent before and he wanted to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible.

She showed the coloring book to Vincent and suddenly pulled it back as a new thought seemed to occur to her, “You and Tifa are going on a date?”

“Marlene!” Tifa said, from behind them.

“Not exactly,” Cloud said, whispering. “I just want her to have some fun. She works too much, don’t you think?”

Marlene nodded and giggled lightheartedly, leaning her head against Cloud’s chest. He felt her sigh contentedly and he watched as she continued to show him all of the pictures she’d colored today.

“Do you like to color?” Marlene said, giving Vincent a hopeful glance.

“I do,” he said.

Becoming excited, Marlene sat up straight in Cloud’s lap and strained her neck around trying to see Tifa. “Can Vincent color in your books, Tifa?”

“Only if he’s been good today,” Tifa said, with a broadening grin.

Marlene cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered in Cloud’s ear, “Has he been good?”

Cloud nodded, causing Marlene to gasp with joy. She wiggled her way out of his lap and the coloring book flopped around in her grasp, as she went to gather up her coloring pencils.

“Marlene, why don’t you go get all the books,” Tifa said. “They’re in my bottom dresser drawer.”

Marlene dashed off immediately, looking thrilled at the suggestion Tifa had made. After the child had left the room, Cloud spoke in a quiet tone to Vincent, “Are you going to be okay with this?”

“We’ll be fine,” Vincent said to Cloud. He turned to Tifa, “Just let me know when I should feed her and put her to bed.”

“I’ve got a list here of things you might need to know,” she handed him a small slip of paper and he took it from her, pausing to read it carefully. “I’m going to go lock the front. Let me know if you have any questions.”

“You can always call us on my cell, if anything weird happens,” Cloud said.

“I think I can handle it,” Vincent said with a smile. “She’s a lucky little girl.”

Cloud felt his face grow warm upon hearing Vincent’s compliment. His friend was implying that he and Tifa had made a nice home for her. The thought made him feel a little guilty inside because he knew it had mostly been Tifa’s doing and not his own.

Up until recently he really hadn’t allowed himself to be close to Marlene or anyone else for that matter. He’d been horribly afraid that if he let anyone get close to him, that he was setting them up for massive amounts of suffering when he died. When he found out that he was infected with Geostigma, his fears became worse. He didn’t want anyone to miss him the way he missed Zack and Aerith…

Miraculously though, he hadn’t died. He’d figured out somewhere along the line that it didn’t seem to make sense to distance himself from the only family he had left: his friends. He had been making them suffer while he lived. Nerves crawled through his stomach again as he watched Tifa hang up her closed sign and secure the front door to the bar. He hoped desperately that she would understand what he had to tell her.

“Do my notes make sense?” Tifa said, checking with Vincent on the list she’d given him. Vincent nodded, putting the sheet of paper in his pocket. “Good. I’m going to go get a shower and clean up.”

Tifa looked at Cloud, staring at his rumpled clothing and she hesitated, “Unless you want to go first?”

Cloud looked down at his clothes, following Tifa’s gaze with his own, “No, go ahead.”

“Alright,” Tifa said. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”

As she disappeared down the hallway, Cloud swallowed hard. He plucked a long red hair off of his sweater and let it drift to the floor, trying to ignore the tell-tale stains on his clothing. The reality of their impending discussion was weighing heavily upon him and he was having second thoughts about talking to Tifa about Reno. He looked up, embarrassed that Vincent was watching him intently.

“Don’t worry so much,” Vincent said, trying to encourage him. It was as if Vincent could read his mind and could hear the doubts that lurked there. Cloud frowned; everyone seemed to know what he’d been thinking lately. Well, everyone except Tifa.

“Yeah, alright,” Cloud said. “I better clean up now. You sure you’ll be okay with—?”

“Cloud,” Vincent said firmly. “Stop trying to look for a way out of this and go get ready.”

Opening his mouth with mild surprise, Cloud just stared at his friend. It was definitely a losing battle to argue about anything right now. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Vincent was right, as usual. He watched the ex-Turk lean over to pick up some of the colored pencils Marlene had left on the floor, and then he went to his room to get ready.

Cloud had only been in his room for a few moments when he heard a knock at the door. Tifa let herself in, dressed only in a towel.

“Where are we going exactly?” she said. “I have no idea what to wear.”

“Dress for fun, and we’ll figure it out,” Cloud said, taking great care not to look directly at her.

She left him then, closing the door softly behind her and Cloud gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to run out the door, get on his bike, and drive off to Costa del Sol. Never mind that there was an ocean between him and the resort town; the details of his fantasy getaway didn’t really matter, he just wished that he could be anywhere but here right now.

He took a very short shower, wrapped a towel around himself and skirted back into his room, this time remembering to lock the door. He didn’t want to take the chance that Tifa might walk in on him while he was getting dressed. He was distracted, having let his mind wander a bit during his shower and his thoughts were full of things that he really wished he didn’t have to think about. As it was, he was fretting about the future way too much, and he needed to focus on the here and now.

The problem was, he was looking forward to the idea of hanging out with Reno. The Turk had given him his cell phone number after all. What he would say when he made that call was still up in the air and everything he thought of sounded a bit sexually charged. Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t completely sure what Reno was expecting from him either. Well, he had an idea…

Cloud pushed his thoughts about the Turk to the back of his mind. He really needed to be focusing on his relationship with Tifa, as much as it pained him to do so. How exactly he was going to tell her what had been going on in the last week was really starting to become a huge roadblock in his mind. Everything he came up with sounded forced or just really stupid.

Just tell her the truth, Vincent’s calm voice floated to him, comforting him. He could do it. He had to.

Cloud slicked his hair with gel and dried it, running his brush through a few times to shape the spikes. It didn’t really take much effort to get his hair styled the way it usually was, despite what everyone thought. His hair clumped and pointed strangely on his head almost naturally and finally he was satisfied with the way it looked. He ran his fingers through the blond mass, watching in the mirror as it bounced back into shape. Cloud dressed quickly, choosing a gray long-sleeved turtleneck sweater that that he rarely ever wore and simple black cargo pants. He shoved a few items into his pockets, including his wallet.

Tifa was waiting for him in the living room. She was wearing a black flared miniskirt and a long, tight crimson t-shirt that outlined her body perfectly. Cloud caught her gaze and he looked away quickly. She looked so good that Cloud’s words stuck in his throat at first when he tried to speak. The reality was simple: Tifa was an attractive woman. Cloud knew that other guys would kill for the chance to be with her, but here he was, getting ready to close that window of opportunity for himself. On the surface of things, it seemed like an insane move to be making, but Cloud figured that was just his nerves talking.

“You ready?” he said, with a slight cough.

“You bet,” she said.

Cloud glanced over at Vincent, who was sitting with Marlene on the couch. She was in his lap contentedly scribbling in one of the coloring books she’d had earlier.

“Have a good time,” Vincent said, dismissively. Vincent was showing Marlene how to color within the lines of the drawings, and she was imitating him with rapt attention. Cloud shook his head in amusement. It looked like he wouldn’t have to worry about either one of them getting along for the night. He wished he could be so sure that he and Tifa would end the night on friendly terms, too.

Cloud and Tifa exited through the back door and walked around to the grass where Cloud kept his bike parked. He straddled the bike and stood it up off the kickstand, sending her a nodded invitation to get on behind him. She didn’t waste time getting comfortable and Cloud closed his eyes warily as he felt her slip her hands around his waist.

“So where are we going?”

“Any preference?”

“Nope,” Tifa said. “Wherever you want is fine with me. As long as there’s food and dancing there. I’m starving!”

Cloud nodded. As they drove off, he knew exactly where he was going to take her.

Cloud slowed his bike as they entered the central section of downtown Edge. This section was known by area locals as “The Hub”, and was an area where restaurants, entertainment, and nightlife met all in one place. He’d not had a chance to go there yet, but he’d always thought it would be nice to check out some of the establishments if he ever found time.

He glanced over his shoulder, watching Tifa take it all in. The place was lit up with bright neon lights and people were clogging the sidewalks. Darkness was closing in and the place was beginning to come alive with people looking to have a good time. Cloud found a spot to park his bike along the curb, killed the engine, and pushed the kickstand out.

“You first,” he said to Tifa, holding her arm gently as she swung her legs off the bike. As he stood up to dismount, he heard someone wolf whistle in their direction. Cloud looked up in time to see a guy making eyes at Tifa. She took a step backward and wrapped her arm around Cloud’s waist and the man continued on his way. Cloud let out the breath that he’d been holding.

“Sorry,” she said, moving her arm away from him. “I just didn’t want any trouble.”

“That might be tough, considering how you’re dressed,” Cloud said. “I won’t be able to keep guys away from you.”

“Oh, I’m not worried,” she said.

Tifa wrinkled her nose at him and pulled at his sleeve playfully, reminding him gently to get off Fenrir. Cloud could feel curious eyes watching both of them, but he pushed the uneasy feeling away and tried to ignore it. The Hub wasn’t an unsafe neighborhood, all things considered, but he wouldn’t be completely letting his guard down. It was Tifa’s night to do that, not his.

Cloud led Tifa down the block, until they came to fourth street. There, off to the side, connected to a plain looking brick building was a small unassuming doorway, with a dim light jutting out of the brick above it. Two bouncers stood side by side at the door, making light conversation with each other.

“I think that’s the place,” Cloud said.

“It looks a little shady.”

“Not if what I’ve heard is right. Come on, let’s check it out.”

Cloud walked up the small flight of stairs to the doorway and stopped to let the bouncers inspect him. Tifa followed closely behind, her fingers never quite leaving his arm. He could tell that she was really unsure about the location, but he wasn’t too concerned. He was just hoping that he’d found the right place.

The bouncer jerked his thumb at the door and moved to inspect Tifa. Cloud locked gazes with the man before he could put a finger on her.

“Don’t get too fucking touchy feely,” he said.

Something about the tone in Cloud’s voice unnerved the man and he gestured for the other bouncer to do the inspection. The other man just shrugged and pointed his thumb toward the door. Cloud grabbed the handle and allowed Tifa to go in first.

The hallway was dark and they paused to let their eyes adjust to the dim lights. Tifa gasped in surprise as a light blue neon light sprung to life on the wall. It was a thin squiggled line that curved up and down the black-painted wall in graceful sloping arcs. The light was soothing and a faint dance beat could be heard in the distance. Cloud let his eyes follow the light to the end of the hallway, where it disappeared around a corner.

“I think we’re supposed to follow it,” he said to Tifa quietly, grabbing her hand. “Come on.”

As they rounded the corner, they had a choice to make. Two doors were colorfully labeled. One said “Fluidic Night Club” the other was labeled “Blue Moon”. Cloud was positive he’d found the right place now. Confidently, he pushed through the door that was labeled “Blue Moon”, pulling Tifa behind him gently.

Tifa’s eyes were wide as they stepped into the cozy room. She let go of his hand and reached for his arm, as if to steady herself. The walls were painted black, and blue neon ran around the room forming colorful water-like patterns on the walls. A giant half moon glowed eerily on the far wall. As Cloud stared at it, he noticed that the light was shifting slightly as each second went by, making the moon look like it was rotating through each lunar phase.

They were standing in a very intimately sized restaurant where the tables were almost full with patrons who appeared to be enjoying themselves. Above each table was a faint blue light, bright enough that one could see their dinner, but dim enough that it wasn’t glaring. Cloud quickly assessed his feelings about being there. Determining that there wasn’t anything shady about the place, Cloud moved up to speak to the hostess standing behind a wooden podium a few feet from them.

“Hello, there,” she said to Cloud before he could say anything. “Just two of you?”

“That’s right.”

“Follow me, please,” the hostess said cheerfully.

“It’s beautiful,” Tifa said, clutching Cloud’s arm tighter. He made an attempt to smile, but Tifa wasn’t looking at him, so it hardly mattered.

The hostess led them to a table and waited for them to sit down. It was a small round table, so Cloud decided to sit next to Tifa rather than across from her. He didn’t really feel like shouting any of the things he had to say with a table in between them, no matter how small it was.

“Your menu is on the table, just press that glowing button there on the wall when you’re ready to order and your waiter will be out to assist you.”

Cloud and Tifa looked at the blue button on the wall and Cloud couldn’t help but be amazed by the decor. It was everything he’d heard about, alright. Tifa picked up a menu and began reading it, and she laughed aloud unexpectedly.

“Oh, look Cloud,” she said, a smile on her lips. “The menu glows, too.”

They both found something that sounded good and placed their order. The server brought their drinks shortly afterwards, which Cloud was thankful for. His mouth was terribly dry and he was starting to feel a bit sick.

“Some of these drinks sound really good,” Tifa said, still reading the menu. “I wonder what’s in them.”

“You could always ask,” Cloud said. His voice wavered a little bit and he cleared his throat.

Cloud’s insides were like knotted cords, pulling tighter and tighter. He took a deep breath and swallowed dryly. He wanted to get this over with. Cloud chewed on his lower lip and tried to hold out until they had at least begun to eat dinner. Tifa deserved at least one more meal without having to deal with his latest drama.

“Are you alright?”

Tifa was looking at him with concern and he realized that he probably wasn’t doing a good job of hiding his nervousness. This wasn’t going to wait until after the food arrived either.

“Actually, no,” Cloud said.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, it’s not that anything’s wrong, really,” Cloud said, starting out weakly. “I just need to talk to you… about something important.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and he watched as she unconsciously played with the dainty charm necklace she was wearing. She tilted her head to the side, staring at him with curious eyes.

“We’ve been friends a long time,” he said, resting his hand on the table. Cloud took a deep breath, carefully making sure that what he was going to say next was the absolute truth. “I guess I shouldn’t be so afraid to talk to you about this, but I am.”

“Why would you be afraid to tell me something?” Tifa’s hand covered his gently. She felt warm and soft. “You can tell me anything, Cloud.”

“I know. It’s just that I—I don’t want to lose your friendship,” Cloud said, stammering. This was probably the most difficult conversation he’d had in a long time. In fact, he’d never really had this frank of a discussion about his feelings before; it was all new territory for him.

Tifa gripped his hand tighter and her eyes sought his. He could tell that he was starting to worry her now, and he hated himself for doing that to her.

This is where you tell her about Reno, she slaps your face, and then she walks out on you forever, he thought silently, as his mind tormented him. Choking back his fears, he took a drink of his soda and just blurted out what he needed to say.

“I’ve started… seeing someone,” Cloud said, his voice cracked at the end.

Tifa’s body jerked back in surprise, her eyes widened, and her grip loosened on Cloud’s hand. Her mouth hung open just slightly as she stared unblinkingly at him. She seemed to be unable to process the information he’d just given her.

“Seeing someone?”

“Yeah, sort of,” Cloud said. “It’s complicated, I guess…”

“Is it… Yuffie?”

It was Cloud’s turn to be surprised. Tifa’s guess was so unexpected, it caused him to do something unusual. A stunned smile appeared on his lips just long enough to allow a hoarse and painful chuckle to come hurtling out of his mouth. He started coughing on his own saliva and reached for his drink again, hoping the cool liquid would help to clear his aching throat.

“What’s so funny?” Tifa said, not understanding at all.

“Nothing,” Cloud said, trying to breathe. His voice was raspy and he coughed again. “I just didn’t expect—“

“Well, who is it then?”

Cloud blinked as she cut him off. The moment of truth had arrived and Tifa was not going to let him off easy. In a way, he was thankful that she was being forceful with her questioning. It was helping to keep him on track.

“Well, it’s probably not someone you would be uh… thinking of, I mean…”

“Cloud, just tell me!”

He cleared his throat and spoke very quietly hoping she wouldn’t be able to hear him, “It’s… Reno.”

Tifa gasped and took her hand away from Cloud’s, using it to cover her open mouth. Her breathing had almost stilled and her eyes were welling with surprised tears. Cloud lowered his gaze to the table, not wanting to see what his confession had done to her.

“R-Reno?” Tifa said, gasping for air. “How is that even possible?”

“Well, the other night we ran into each other at the—“

“No,” she said, interrupting him again. “That’s not what I mean. Since when have you liked guys?”

“I guess I always have,” Cloud said vaguely.

“Why are you just telling me this now?” Tifa said, her voice taking on a frustrated tone.

“It didn’t seem important,” he said. Words spilled from his mouth as he tried to explain himself. “I’m sorry, Tifa. I should have told you sooner, but I thought it didn’t matter. I’ve not been interested in anyone in such a long time.”

Tifa grabbed a napkin off the table and used it to blot her watery eyes, “Well, that explains a hell of a lot. All this time I thought that I was doing something wrong.”

“It’s not you,” he said, allowing the blame for all their miscommunications to fall on his shoulders.

“I see that,” Tifa said, gently placing her hand over Cloud’s again. She patted him affectionately, wrapping her fingers under his. “But… Reno? I thought you couldn’t stand him.”

“Not as much as I thought, I guess,” Cloud said, feeling his face flush. He was thankful for the semi-darkness; it hid his embarrassment well.

“Barret is never going to stop teasing you about this when he finds out,” Tifa said. “Does anyone else know?”

“Only you and Vincent,” Cloud said. “It’s not exactly serious. I just wanted you to hear about it from me rather than someone else.”

“Oh, Cloud,” Tifa said, moving her hand up to his arm. She scooted her chair closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him a heartfelt hug. Cloud held her back tightly, melting into her embrace, fighting back happy tears that were threatening to blur his vision. Tifa was comforting him and was accepting what he’d told her. Cloud felt so lucky to have her in his life. She really was his best friend.

“I’ll always love you,” she said, whispering quietly. “No matter what.”

“That means a lot to me,” Cloud said. She released him and smiled, dabbing at her eyes again briefly before balling the napkin up and tossing it onto the table.

“Can you promise me something, though?” she said. Cloud looked up at her, meeting her gaze. “Next time you have something important to say, don’t wait so damn long to do it.”

“I promise, if you promise,” he said.

She laughed and shook her head, “You’re completely impossible. I promise.”

“Then so do I,” Cloud said.

The waiter finally brought their food; his timing was perfect. Now that Cloud had all this off his chest, he felt much lighter, and could very acutely feel his stomach rumbling with hunger rather than nervousness. He hadn’t eaten since early morning and was for the first time that day looking forward to eating some good food.

“Still hungry?”

“Are you kidding me?” Tifa said, taking a deep breath through her nose as the waiter put her plate in front of her. “This smells so good.”

Cloud watched Tifa tentatively taste her dinner and once he believed that she was satisfied with it, he took a bite of his. The little restaurant was not only good on atmosphere, they apparently knew how to make a tasty dish or two as well. Cloud was just starting to think that he might have to come back here again when Tifa pulled him out of his brief reverie.

“You’re not off the hook, you know,” she said.

Cloud paused mid-bite, looking at her with sudden confusion, “What do you mean?”

“We’re still going dancing,” she said, laughing. “I know how much you hate it.”

“I’ll get over it,” Cloud said, taking great pleasure in the happy surprise on her face.

☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺

A/N: Please review, and be kind. ^_^;