Fanfiction: Divisions (Final Fantasy VII Remake, Barret/Tifa/Cloud/Aerith)
It's a real struggle to find any Cloud/Aerith/Tifa/Barret fanworks! I was convinced that there would be at least a handful, but apparently not.
Here is my attempt to help rectify this situation.
Title: Divisions
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII Remake (I don't think this is incompatible with the original game, but I had Remake in mind when I wrote it)
Rating: 14ish
Pairing: Barret/Tifa, Barret/Tifa/Cloud/Aerith
Wordcount: 2,300
Summary: Cloud pauses for a moment. “How close are you and Tifa, exactly?”
From the start, Barret’s known this thing with Tifa wasn’t going to last. Growing old with a partner is a dream that died in Corel. Right now, the odds don’t look great on growing old at all.
For a while, he thought he’d turned his back on romance in general, buried that particular option in a box. He had bigger things to focus on.
It was all business to start with, his relationship with Tifa. She was just the bartender who’d allowed Avalanche into her basement. And then she was the lady who looked after Marlene while Barret was out fighting for the planet. The woman Barret ended up talking to for long hours at the bar, once everyone else had gone home. Tifa, his friend, gasping into his neck on the bar counter, and at that point he had to admit that maybe the celibate, purely mission-focused existence he’d envisioned for himself wasn’t working out.
He’s always been clear with her: if she wants to break it off with him - if she meets someone else, or if she just gets bored of him - she can do it, no questions asked. This is all casual, just a way of passing the time between missions.
And now Cloud’s shown up. Didn’t need to see them together for long to know that it was over. Barret has a lot of respect for Tifa, but he’s not so sure about her taste in men.
The next time Tifa kisses him, Barret pushes her away from him, gently.
“Barret?” Tifa asks, frowning.
He needs a moment to put his thoughts into words. He wasn’t expecting to have to talk about this; he wasn’t expecting there to be a next time.
“You don’t have to do that,” Barret says. “I told you. You meet someone else, all you gotta do is say the word.”
“Okay,” Tifa says, slowly. “But... I haven’t said the word yet, have I?”
That’s true, he guesses. Kind of seemed like it went without saying. “I guess not.”
“Barret,” Tifa says, “is this okay? Do you want to end this?”
That’s easy to answer, at least. “Hey, I’m here as long as you need me.”
-
Maybe Barret drew conclusions too soon about Cloud’s relationship with Tifa. Cloud’s met this other woman, apparently. Aerith.
It’s a while before Barret can really take much in, after the plate drops. Once he’s started to pay attention, though, it’s hard not to wonder who this Aerith is to Cloud. Easy enough to see he cares about her, and he doesn’t seem like a guy who cares about much.
From Tifa’s expression when Cloud talks about her, sometimes, it looks like the same thought’s crossed her mind.
Maybe it’s selfish to hope Cloud’s off the table. Tifa deserves more than the kind of life Barret can give her. But, if this thing with her can go on a little longer, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.
He could talk to Cloud, try to feel things out. Seems like it might be a bad idea. But Barret’s not a guy who’s good at sitting still.
They’re nearing the Shinra building, and they don’t have the money to stay in one of those fancy topside hotels. Cloud’s offered to keep watch; Tifa’s settled down on a bench.
Barret waits until he can be sure Tifa’s fallen asleep. It seems like the best opportunity he’s going to get to speak to Cloud alone.
“So who’s this Aerith?” Barret asks at last.
Cloud looks at him, casts a sharp glance at the sleeping Tifa. It’s a reaction that says more than Cloud was probably planning on.
“She helped me after I fell,” Cloud says, after a pause.
“Doesn’t tell me much.”
Cloud holds his gaze steadily. “That’s the idea.”
“There an actual reason for all the secrecy,” Barret says, “or did you just read too many Shadow the Masked Ninja comics when you were a kid?”
Cloud doesn’t say anything. Big surprise.
“Look,” Barret says, “me and Tifa, we’ve got pretty close. I just wanna look out for her.”
A beat. “By... asking about Aerith.”
“Seems like the kind of thing that might matter to her.”
“Maybe.” Cloud pauses for a moment. “How close are you and Tifa, exactly?”
Barret looks over at her. She’s still sleeping on the bench, lying on her side, curled up as much as the narrow space will allow.
She’s frowning a little in her sleep, no peace in her expression. Barret lost any chance of his own peace long ago, but it still hurts to see that Tifa’s was buried with Sector 7.
“I’m not gonna stand in the way of what she wants,” Barret says. “That’s all you need to know.”
“Who was just lecturing me about secrecy, again?”
He hates it when the merc has a point. “We might’ve had something. Nothing important. I figure I was just a placeholder until she saw you again.”
Cloud pauses. “Tifa said that to you?”
“Just the sense I get,” Barret says. “I still have both eyes, y’know.”
“She’s seen me again,” Cloud points out. “It’s not like she just...” He pauses again. “I don’t think she’s the kind of person who thinks of people as placeholders.”
Huh. Maybe there’s something real to this guy, under all that attitude.
“Sounds like we both care about what she wants,” Barret says. “I don’t get why it’s so hard to make sure she has it.”
Maybe because they’re just talking to each other about what she wants. He guesses he should probably be talking to Tifa.
Maybe Cloud sees Barret’s thoughts in his face, because he asks, “You want some time alone with her?”
-
There’s nothing slow in the way Tifa wakes. She’s on her feet almost the instant her eyes open.
“Do we need to get going?” she asks, and then, “Where’s Cloud?”
“Scouting ahead.” Barret sits on the bench, gently tugs on her wrist to guide her down. “We’ve got time.”
Tifa sits down next to him, pushes both hands back through her hair, lets out a breath. Looks over at Barret, after a moment, and flashes him a half-smile. “A moment to ourselves, huh?”
Cloud might have a point. It doesn’t seem like she resents Barret for not being anyone else.
When he kisses her, she kisses back as wholeheartedly as she always has.
Doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel anything for Cloud, though. Barret knows what he’s seen.
“Hey,” Barret says, drawing back a little, his hand still on her arm. He doesn’t want to have this conversation; he just wants to feel this moment. But he’ll say it, for Tifa.
“Mm?” Tifa asks.
“Wanted to say.” Barret clears his throat. “If there’s someone else. Uh, if you meet someone else, I mean.” Probably shouldn’t sound like he’s assuming she’s already with Cloud.
“Barret, we’ve had this conversation.”
“If you meet someone else,” Barret says, “and you don’t want to give this up... you don’t have to.”
He feels Tifa go still under his hand.
“You mean it?” she asks, after a moment.
It’s pretty much confirmation she wants to be with Cloud. He knew that already; it shouldn’t feel like a punch in the chest. “You can be with whoever. I’ll still be here. Just, uh... you don’t have to tell me about it, okay?”
Maybe giving her the option is just going to hurt her, if it turns out there is something going on between Cloud and Aerith, or if Cloud isn’t up for this arrangement. But Barret’s not going to be the one to stand in her way.
-
Barret’s still curious about Cloud’s relationship with Aerith, and he’s hoping that actually meeting her might give him some answers.
Turns out there aren’t any answers there, either. Aerith’s more personable than Cloud - however high a bar that is - but she’s playful as well, and sharper than she acts. He can see how she caught Cloud’s attention, but it’s hard to judge how sincere she’s being. When Barret asks how the two of them know each other, she gives him a smile that feels like it could mean anything.
Tifa gets along with her, which is good to see. Doesn’t seem like the two of them view each other as rivals, whatever’s going on with the Cloud situation.
Barret finds himself dreaming about it sometimes, like an idiot: maybe Cloud and Aerith are happy together, maybe Tifa’ll move on. Maybe he and Tifa could be more than a convenience to each other.
Stupid. Barret’s already shot down any chance of romance. He told Tifa she could have relationships with other people; he specifically asked her to hide it from him if she did. It could already be happening. If he tries to build something serious with her, he’ll just be thinking the whole time about who else she might be sharing a bed with.
Easiest if they just stay friends who sleep together sometimes.
-
Barret’s been booking their inn rooms as they travel. He’d hesitated a long time when he was first asked how many rooms they needed, ended up booking one for each of them.
It’s a pattern he’s kept up. Costs more than they have to pay, probably, but he’ll spend the extra so he doesn’t have to obsess over who’s spending the night in whose room. Tifa knocks on his door some nights. Maybe she knocks on Cloud’s sometimes. At least Barret doesn’t have to know.
Doesn’t stop him picturing it sometimes. It’s been on his mind a lot when he’s sleeping with Tifa himself. He doesn’t really want to analyse how that mental image makes him feel.
There’s a knock on his door while they’re staying in Junon, when he’s halfway through undressing. Barret heads over and pulls it open.
It’s Aerith.
“Oh,” Barret says, suddenly conscious of his shirtlessness. “Uh...”
“Not who you expected?” Aerith asks, cocking her head with a smile.
“Sorry,” Barret says. “I was getting ready to sleep. Uh, what did you need?”
Aerith puts a hand on his collarbone and pushes him back into the room, so she can slip inside and close the door. She’s not actually the one moving him, of course; Barret steps back himself, kind of thrown by the fact that she’s acting like she could push him around. She’s a foot shorter than him and probably half his weight.
“Not answering my question,” Barret says. This is starting to feel dangerous in ways he can’t pin down.
Aerith shrugs. She hasn’t taken her hand off him. “I thought you might not want to sleep alone tonight.”
Barret stares at her.
No way this is real. Aerith’s a decade younger than him at least. So’s Tifa, but he and Tifa have history; he can see how this thing between them built up. He doesn’t buy that this young lady would be interested in him.
Which means someone put her up to this.
“Cloud or Tifa?” Barret asks. An attempt to get him out of the way? A test of his loyalty? What is this?
Aerith laughs a little, quietly. “Is it that obvious? Um, both, actually.”
“Wait, they both asked you to do this?” Barret demands.
“Oh!” She brushes a stray wisp of hair back behind her ear, smiling. “Kind of, I guess? But I actually thought you were asking which one I was sleeping with.”
Maybe he didn’t hear that right.
“Uh,” Barret says. “You want to say that again?”
Aerith just laughs.
Wait. “What do you mean, kind of?”
“We’ve been talking about it,” Aerith says. “You’re already with Tifa. We were wondering if you wanted to be... with us.”
“Us,” Barret echoes. “You. And Cloud?”
“Whoever you’re interested in,” Aerith says. “It’s just easier without all these divisions, y’know? We’d definitely save on hotel rooms.”
The images of Cloud with Tifa are back. But now Aerith’s there as well, and flashes of Barret himself, and it’s all starting to make this room feel a little too warm.
“So why are you here on your own?” Barret asks. “If you all, uh. If you all agreed on this.” It’s surreal to picture them discussing it.
“You know Cloud. He wouldn’t want to be the one to have this conversation. Tifa said you’d probably be easier to persuade if she came along, but...” Aerith puts her hands behind her back, with an expression of perfect innocence. “Honestly, I just wanted to see how you reacted.”
Is this girl for real?
“Well, I hope I managed to satisfy you,” Barret says, in a near-growl.
“You’ll have to come back to our room for that,” Aerith says, her expression somehow only becoming more innocent.
It cracks through Barret’s annoyance, and suddenly he’s laughing. This situation is ridiculous.
“So?” Aerith asks, holding out a hand. Her right hand; it takes her a moment to realise it’d be hard for him to take it, switch to the left instead. “Are you coming?”
It’s kind of stirring something in him; he can’t deny that. His body might just be confused.
Aerith’s compelling, and he obviously has something going on with Tifa already. He was expecting the thought of Cloud to be the dealbreaker.
Somehow it’s not putting him off. He’s been picturing Cloud a lot while he’s been with Tifa, however involuntarily; maybe some wires got crossed somewhere along the way.
It feels like a bad idea. But he wants Tifa to have what she wants, and, if what she wants involves all three of them...
Well. It’s not what he was expecting, but he’s prepared to risk some regret for her. Wouldn’t be the worst mistake he’s made.
Barret takes in a deep breath. “Lead the way.”
Here is my attempt to help rectify this situation.
Title: Divisions
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII Remake (I don't think this is incompatible with the original game, but I had Remake in mind when I wrote it)
Rating: 14ish
Pairing: Barret/Tifa, Barret/Tifa/Cloud/Aerith
Wordcount: 2,300
Summary: Cloud pauses for a moment. “How close are you and Tifa, exactly?”
From the start, Barret’s known this thing with Tifa wasn’t going to last. Growing old with a partner is a dream that died in Corel. Right now, the odds don’t look great on growing old at all.
For a while, he thought he’d turned his back on romance in general, buried that particular option in a box. He had bigger things to focus on.
It was all business to start with, his relationship with Tifa. She was just the bartender who’d allowed Avalanche into her basement. And then she was the lady who looked after Marlene while Barret was out fighting for the planet. The woman Barret ended up talking to for long hours at the bar, once everyone else had gone home. Tifa, his friend, gasping into his neck on the bar counter, and at that point he had to admit that maybe the celibate, purely mission-focused existence he’d envisioned for himself wasn’t working out.
He’s always been clear with her: if she wants to break it off with him - if she meets someone else, or if she just gets bored of him - she can do it, no questions asked. This is all casual, just a way of passing the time between missions.
And now Cloud’s shown up. Didn’t need to see them together for long to know that it was over. Barret has a lot of respect for Tifa, but he’s not so sure about her taste in men.
The next time Tifa kisses him, Barret pushes her away from him, gently.
“Barret?” Tifa asks, frowning.
He needs a moment to put his thoughts into words. He wasn’t expecting to have to talk about this; he wasn’t expecting there to be a next time.
“You don’t have to do that,” Barret says. “I told you. You meet someone else, all you gotta do is say the word.”
“Okay,” Tifa says, slowly. “But... I haven’t said the word yet, have I?”
That’s true, he guesses. Kind of seemed like it went without saying. “I guess not.”
“Barret,” Tifa says, “is this okay? Do you want to end this?”
That’s easy to answer, at least. “Hey, I’m here as long as you need me.”
-
Maybe Barret drew conclusions too soon about Cloud’s relationship with Tifa. Cloud’s met this other woman, apparently. Aerith.
It’s a while before Barret can really take much in, after the plate drops. Once he’s started to pay attention, though, it’s hard not to wonder who this Aerith is to Cloud. Easy enough to see he cares about her, and he doesn’t seem like a guy who cares about much.
From Tifa’s expression when Cloud talks about her, sometimes, it looks like the same thought’s crossed her mind.
Maybe it’s selfish to hope Cloud’s off the table. Tifa deserves more than the kind of life Barret can give her. But, if this thing with her can go on a little longer, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.
He could talk to Cloud, try to feel things out. Seems like it might be a bad idea. But Barret’s not a guy who’s good at sitting still.
They’re nearing the Shinra building, and they don’t have the money to stay in one of those fancy topside hotels. Cloud’s offered to keep watch; Tifa’s settled down on a bench.
Barret waits until he can be sure Tifa’s fallen asleep. It seems like the best opportunity he’s going to get to speak to Cloud alone.
“So who’s this Aerith?” Barret asks at last.
Cloud looks at him, casts a sharp glance at the sleeping Tifa. It’s a reaction that says more than Cloud was probably planning on.
“She helped me after I fell,” Cloud says, after a pause.
“Doesn’t tell me much.”
Cloud holds his gaze steadily. “That’s the idea.”
“There an actual reason for all the secrecy,” Barret says, “or did you just read too many Shadow the Masked Ninja comics when you were a kid?”
Cloud doesn’t say anything. Big surprise.
“Look,” Barret says, “me and Tifa, we’ve got pretty close. I just wanna look out for her.”
A beat. “By... asking about Aerith.”
“Seems like the kind of thing that might matter to her.”
“Maybe.” Cloud pauses for a moment. “How close are you and Tifa, exactly?”
Barret looks over at her. She’s still sleeping on the bench, lying on her side, curled up as much as the narrow space will allow.
She’s frowning a little in her sleep, no peace in her expression. Barret lost any chance of his own peace long ago, but it still hurts to see that Tifa’s was buried with Sector 7.
“I’m not gonna stand in the way of what she wants,” Barret says. “That’s all you need to know.”
“Who was just lecturing me about secrecy, again?”
He hates it when the merc has a point. “We might’ve had something. Nothing important. I figure I was just a placeholder until she saw you again.”
Cloud pauses. “Tifa said that to you?”
“Just the sense I get,” Barret says. “I still have both eyes, y’know.”
“She’s seen me again,” Cloud points out. “It’s not like she just...” He pauses again. “I don’t think she’s the kind of person who thinks of people as placeholders.”
Huh. Maybe there’s something real to this guy, under all that attitude.
“Sounds like we both care about what she wants,” Barret says. “I don’t get why it’s so hard to make sure she has it.”
Maybe because they’re just talking to each other about what she wants. He guesses he should probably be talking to Tifa.
Maybe Cloud sees Barret’s thoughts in his face, because he asks, “You want some time alone with her?”
-
There’s nothing slow in the way Tifa wakes. She’s on her feet almost the instant her eyes open.
“Do we need to get going?” she asks, and then, “Where’s Cloud?”
“Scouting ahead.” Barret sits on the bench, gently tugs on her wrist to guide her down. “We’ve got time.”
Tifa sits down next to him, pushes both hands back through her hair, lets out a breath. Looks over at Barret, after a moment, and flashes him a half-smile. “A moment to ourselves, huh?”
Cloud might have a point. It doesn’t seem like she resents Barret for not being anyone else.
When he kisses her, she kisses back as wholeheartedly as she always has.
Doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel anything for Cloud, though. Barret knows what he’s seen.
“Hey,” Barret says, drawing back a little, his hand still on her arm. He doesn’t want to have this conversation; he just wants to feel this moment. But he’ll say it, for Tifa.
“Mm?” Tifa asks.
“Wanted to say.” Barret clears his throat. “If there’s someone else. Uh, if you meet someone else, I mean.” Probably shouldn’t sound like he’s assuming she’s already with Cloud.
“Barret, we’ve had this conversation.”
“If you meet someone else,” Barret says, “and you don’t want to give this up... you don’t have to.”
He feels Tifa go still under his hand.
“You mean it?” she asks, after a moment.
It’s pretty much confirmation she wants to be with Cloud. He knew that already; it shouldn’t feel like a punch in the chest. “You can be with whoever. I’ll still be here. Just, uh... you don’t have to tell me about it, okay?”
Maybe giving her the option is just going to hurt her, if it turns out there is something going on between Cloud and Aerith, or if Cloud isn’t up for this arrangement. But Barret’s not going to be the one to stand in her way.
-
Barret’s still curious about Cloud’s relationship with Aerith, and he’s hoping that actually meeting her might give him some answers.
Turns out there aren’t any answers there, either. Aerith’s more personable than Cloud - however high a bar that is - but she’s playful as well, and sharper than she acts. He can see how she caught Cloud’s attention, but it’s hard to judge how sincere she’s being. When Barret asks how the two of them know each other, she gives him a smile that feels like it could mean anything.
Tifa gets along with her, which is good to see. Doesn’t seem like the two of them view each other as rivals, whatever’s going on with the Cloud situation.
Barret finds himself dreaming about it sometimes, like an idiot: maybe Cloud and Aerith are happy together, maybe Tifa’ll move on. Maybe he and Tifa could be more than a convenience to each other.
Stupid. Barret’s already shot down any chance of romance. He told Tifa she could have relationships with other people; he specifically asked her to hide it from him if she did. It could already be happening. If he tries to build something serious with her, he’ll just be thinking the whole time about who else she might be sharing a bed with.
Easiest if they just stay friends who sleep together sometimes.
-
Barret’s been booking their inn rooms as they travel. He’d hesitated a long time when he was first asked how many rooms they needed, ended up booking one for each of them.
It’s a pattern he’s kept up. Costs more than they have to pay, probably, but he’ll spend the extra so he doesn’t have to obsess over who’s spending the night in whose room. Tifa knocks on his door some nights. Maybe she knocks on Cloud’s sometimes. At least Barret doesn’t have to know.
Doesn’t stop him picturing it sometimes. It’s been on his mind a lot when he’s sleeping with Tifa himself. He doesn’t really want to analyse how that mental image makes him feel.
There’s a knock on his door while they’re staying in Junon, when he’s halfway through undressing. Barret heads over and pulls it open.
It’s Aerith.
“Oh,” Barret says, suddenly conscious of his shirtlessness. “Uh...”
“Not who you expected?” Aerith asks, cocking her head with a smile.
“Sorry,” Barret says. “I was getting ready to sleep. Uh, what did you need?”
Aerith puts a hand on his collarbone and pushes him back into the room, so she can slip inside and close the door. She’s not actually the one moving him, of course; Barret steps back himself, kind of thrown by the fact that she’s acting like she could push him around. She’s a foot shorter than him and probably half his weight.
“Not answering my question,” Barret says. This is starting to feel dangerous in ways he can’t pin down.
Aerith shrugs. She hasn’t taken her hand off him. “I thought you might not want to sleep alone tonight.”
Barret stares at her.
No way this is real. Aerith’s a decade younger than him at least. So’s Tifa, but he and Tifa have history; he can see how this thing between them built up. He doesn’t buy that this young lady would be interested in him.
Which means someone put her up to this.
“Cloud or Tifa?” Barret asks. An attempt to get him out of the way? A test of his loyalty? What is this?
Aerith laughs a little, quietly. “Is it that obvious? Um, both, actually.”
“Wait, they both asked you to do this?” Barret demands.
“Oh!” She brushes a stray wisp of hair back behind her ear, smiling. “Kind of, I guess? But I actually thought you were asking which one I was sleeping with.”
Maybe he didn’t hear that right.
“Uh,” Barret says. “You want to say that again?”
Aerith just laughs.
Wait. “What do you mean, kind of?”
“We’ve been talking about it,” Aerith says. “You’re already with Tifa. We were wondering if you wanted to be... with us.”
“Us,” Barret echoes. “You. And Cloud?”
“Whoever you’re interested in,” Aerith says. “It’s just easier without all these divisions, y’know? We’d definitely save on hotel rooms.”
The images of Cloud with Tifa are back. But now Aerith’s there as well, and flashes of Barret himself, and it’s all starting to make this room feel a little too warm.
“So why are you here on your own?” Barret asks. “If you all, uh. If you all agreed on this.” It’s surreal to picture them discussing it.
“You know Cloud. He wouldn’t want to be the one to have this conversation. Tifa said you’d probably be easier to persuade if she came along, but...” Aerith puts her hands behind her back, with an expression of perfect innocence. “Honestly, I just wanted to see how you reacted.”
Is this girl for real?
“Well, I hope I managed to satisfy you,” Barret says, in a near-growl.
“You’ll have to come back to our room for that,” Aerith says, her expression somehow only becoming more innocent.
It cracks through Barret’s annoyance, and suddenly he’s laughing. This situation is ridiculous.
“So?” Aerith asks, holding out a hand. Her right hand; it takes her a moment to realise it’d be hard for him to take it, switch to the left instead. “Are you coming?”
It’s kind of stirring something in him; he can’t deny that. His body might just be confused.
Aerith’s compelling, and he obviously has something going on with Tifa already. He was expecting the thought of Cloud to be the dealbreaker.
Somehow it’s not putting him off. He’s been picturing Cloud a lot while he’s been with Tifa, however involuntarily; maybe some wires got crossed somewhere along the way.
It feels like a bad idea. But he wants Tifa to have what she wants, and, if what she wants involves all three of them...
Well. It’s not what he was expecting, but he’s prepared to risk some regret for her. Wouldn’t be the worst mistake he’s made.
Barret takes in a deep breath. “Lead the way.”