Barret Wallace stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the private quarters of the Seventh Heaven, The fingers of his mechanical hand tapping against the wall, as he waited for an answer. When none was forthcoming, he gave up with a grunt and headed back to the main floor of the bar.
" I don't know what's wrong with that fool!" He said, irritably " We saved the world, again. Looks like Sephiroth's gonna stay dead this time. The Geostigma is gone...and the kid's still mopin'!"
" Perhaps he is not 'mopin', Barret. Perhaps he is simply contemplating."
Barret glanced at the strange lion-like creature who'd just spoken. Red XIII, or Nanaki, as he preferred to be called, was laying on the floor indolently swinging his tail back and forth, Its flaming tip an almost hypnotic point of light in the dim, cool interior of the bar.
"What's the difference?" Barret gruffed back.
"None. At least none where Cloud's concerned." Another voice piped in, before breaking out into a giggle " That Cloud...always a pain in the ass!"
Barret's gaze went from Nanaki, to the deceptively girlish form of Yuffie, who was sitting with her feet propped up on one of the tables, one arm draped possessively over a metal box containing Materia, while she sipped from a glass full of something she was probably not supposed to be drinking.
The big man was just about to call her on it, when a loud crashing sound was heard, coming from the bar's kitchen. It was followed by an equally loud voice.
" Aw! Son of a bi..."
"Cid! Not in front of the kids!"
" Well, godda...sorry, Tifa."
From the floor, Nanaki let out a quiet growl of amusement, as Yuffie giggled again.
" Yo, Cid! That better not be the sound of our lunch gettin' ruined!" Barret shouted.
" Shudup, will ya?! Yer fu...yer lunch's fine!" Cid yelled back.
" Then stop messin' around in there, and get a move on. We're starvin' out here!"
" Yeah, yeah! Keep yer britches on ya big, dumb bast...sorry, Tifa."
A moment later, Marlene and Denzel came out of the kitchen followed closely by Tifa, who was shaking her head and muttering something about Cid being 'hopeless'. The kids waved at Barret, Nanaki and Yuffie, before skipping out to the back courtyard to play. But Tifa stopped, smiling at her friends, before looking around the bar.
" Where's Cloud?" She asked.
" Boy's upstairs, mopin'." Barret answered, curtly.
" Contemplating." Nanaki said.
" Naw, he's moping." Yuffie reiterated.
Tifa's smile dimmed as she turned to look at the stairs. She had hoped.....Well, she had hoped things would be different. That with the threat of Sephiroth now gone, along with the Geostigma, Cloud would finally let himself lighten up, at least a little. It sure had seemed that way when he had spoken to her, right before the big battle with Bahamut Sun. And again at the church, where Midgar's children had been miraculously healed. But it had not happened that way. Soon after, Cloud had gone back to his pattern of disappearing, without letting anyone know where he was going. In fact, he had just returned not an hour ago, only to go up to his room without so much as a word.
{ Well, it's only been seven days...} Tifa thought. Then, suddently, she found herself getting angry. Really angry. Well, it's only been two days... Well, it's only been three days... Well, it's only been four days... She had been murmuring that litany for the past week, making excuses for his behavior...like always. But the truth was that it had not just been a week, or a month, or a year. Cloud had been acting this way for a lot longer than that. And Tifa finally came to the realization that she had had enough. She was tired of being his convenient fall-back. She was tired of waitingfor him to come around and see her. She was tired of the constant ache in her heart. Just...tired.
It was time to let go.
Something of what she was feeling must have shown on her face, because Barret, Nanaki and Yuffie all gazed at her worriedly when she turned and began to walk resolutely towards the stairs.
" I think she's really pissed at Coud this time." Yuffie said, before noisily slurping down the last of her drink.
" Then maybe she'll finally knock some sense into that spiky head of his!" Barret grumbled " That fool's been way too wrapped in his own self, to see how good he's got it with her. If you ask me, this has been a long time comin'!"
"On that, Barret, we are in complete agreement." Nanaki nodded " The matter between them must be resolved, for both of their sakes."
And by the looks of it, it was about to be.
The three in the bar settled in to wait for the outcome, just as another round of clanking was heard from the direction of the kitchen.
" Goddamn! Friggin' hel...sorry, Tifa!" Cid called out.
But no reprimand came, because Tifa had already made her way upstairs...
The door to Cloud's room was slightly ajar. Taking a deep breath, Tifa placed her fingertips on it, then silently pushed it all the way open.
Cloud was standing at the far end with his back to the door, gazing out through one of the windows. He had removed his sword, harness, gloves, shoulder guard, and the mantle he normally wore around his waist. It made him look younger, somehow, and more than a little vulnerable. Just a beautiful boy in a sleeveless turtleneck and baggy denim pants, who had no idea of how he affected those around him.
For one moment, Tifa felt her resolve slipping away as the urge to just go to him, to put her hand on his shoulder, to try again, became almost overwhelming. But she knew that he would not let her in. He never really had. Especially after Aerith's death. And so she steeled herself to say what she had to say. Knowing that the words would hurt. But also knowing that she could not go on with the way things were between them.
" Cloud..."
It seemed to take forever for him to turn around and face her. But when he finally did, Tifa could not help the faint gasp that escaped from her lips.
He was smiling.
" Tifa." He said. And the word reached out across the room to her, like a caress.
Time came to a full stop then, as they stood rooted to their spots, gazing at one another. The briliant blue color of his Mako-enhanced eyes softened into a look of such tenderness that she felt her own well up with tears. He was seeing her. Truly seeing her. And he was letting her see him, in return. At last letting her in, without any reservations.
" What?...How...?" She whispered.
Time began again, as he came to stand right in front of her. " I had to say goodbye, Tifa." He said quietly, placing his hands on her shoulders, before trailing them down to gently grip her upper arms. " I had to let go of the past, so I could look forward to a future...with you."
Tifa Lockheart had just enough time to think that Nanaki had been right, after all. Then Cloud leaned in, pressed his lips against hers, and she stopped thinking and just...
Well, they never made it back downstairs for lunch. Or dinner, for that matter.