"Wash it All Away" (Final Fantasy VII, Aerith/Tifa/Zack)
Title: Wash it All Away
Author: windrider1
Rating: R
Warnings: implied sex, mild angst
Word count: 1409
Prompt: Final Fantasy VII, Aeris/Tifa/Zack: repairing loneliness - "You didn't think we forgot about you, did you Tifa?"
The bath was hot-so hot that her skin was pink and tingling within seconds. Steam rose like dancing ribbons from the water, drifted over white tile and smeared itself wantonly against mirrored glass.
Tifa gave a long sigh as she settled back. She closed her eyes, tilted her head and let the water erase the hard stiffness from her shoulders. She ached from head to toes, having spent her afternoon and evening completing every household task she could think of.
The walls were washed, the trash removed, the dishes done, clothing sewn and repaired-mostly Cloud's-and all of the rooms scrubbed and scoured to a spotless shine. She organized the liquor, replenished the stock, finished the grocery shopping, dropped the kids off at Elmyra's and painted the spare room.
She had also spent a good portion of the night waiting for a phone call that wasn't coming.
It shouldn't surprise her that he didn't remember. After all he hadn't mentioned it once in all these years. It wasn't Nibleheim, or Sephiroth, or Aerith. This pain was hers and hers alone.
Fifteen years. Had it really been so long since she'd seen her mother's face?
She tried to recall wavy hair, warm brown eyes and an easy smile, but found the image faded, blurry and distorted by time. She had no pictures in which to refresh her memory. All of those had been lost-burnt to the ground with the rest of her childhood.
Absently, her fingers brushed against the earring dangling from her left ear. It wasn't like her to dwell on all of the things she'd lost, couldn't remember, and would never have again, because she knew better than most that it wouldn't change anything.
She was adept at pretending that everything was all right...that she was all right. She had become an expert at feeling one thing while portraying another, but not tonight.
Not on this night.
This was her night to remember.
The hollow, empty ache inside of her refused to be ignored.
Disgusted by her own self pity, Tifa wrapped her arms around herself and slid down. Down...down....
The water closed over her head and the sound of her own heart drummed in her ears. She lay flat, eyes closed and wondered how long she could hide beneath the surface, immersed in the warmth before the need for air would pull her up to once more be shackled by loneliness.
A giggle. Light and airy rippled across the water and through her.
Tifa's eyes popped opened and she sat up abruptly with her hands clutched against the scar on her chest, sloshing water over the side of the tub. A glance around the bathroom revealed her to be alone, but she felt anything but. As foolish as it was, she called out, “Hello?”
No response.
Not that there should have been one.
She was alone.
She was so alone..
Always alone.
A touch, featherlight and fleeting-perhaps a breeze from the hall-swept over her skin, leaving a trail of goose flesh in its wake. A soft tickle stirred the fine hair on her ear. ~Not alone~ it seemed to whisper and Tifa caught the elusive impression of hair, dark as a raven's wing and laughing blue eyes.
She rubbed her hands down her face and expelled a shaky breath. She was tired. Too tired, and too emotionally raw, and she may very well have slipped over the edge into crazy-town.
She felt drunk and heavy, although she'd had only one drink that night. Her thoughts slipped like sand through fingers. She couldn't grasp any one of them long enough to make sense of it.
She jerked reflexively when she felt a hand, delicate and smooth, glide up her legs. It was no more than a brush, the barest whisper of contact, but she felt it. The shock of it had her gasping, and instinct had her legs snapping together.
Another giggle in her head, but like her drifting thoughts, it was there and gone.
That same almost-fingers sensation trailed over her shoulders, over the long scar between her breasts and then back up to stroke through wet tresses. Lips, and a light hint of teeth skimmed the side of her neck.
~Relax...~
The room, thick with steam and the scent of flowers, blurred and tilted dangerously askew.
~We're here for you...You're not alone...~
Tifa was gently eased back, her head resting against the tub. She closed her eyes. Auburn hair, moss green eyes, and a sunbeam smile that refused to fade flitted behind her eyelids. This wasn't real. She wasn't hearing these voices. She was quietly taking a bath before going to bed. Nothing more.
And that's when it happened.
The water, warm and fluid, lapped over her, and coated her with pleasure. There was no other way to describe it. She was caught in a kaleidescope spin of sensual awareness. She cried out, shocked, when she felt the first tremors of an unannounced orgasm ripple through her. Her hands flailed, slipped and slid against the curve of the tub as she struggled to find purchase amidst the swirling sensations wreaking havoc on her body.
A tug on her hair.
A bite to her shoulder.
Hands on her breasts.
Hard muscles.
A soft smile.
Green eyes.
Black hair.
A press of lips.
A swirl of tongue.
She had no defense against it, nor could she claim she wanted one. Greedily she sobbed and arched and spread herself to the heat, and was rewarded when it didn't stop.
She sprawled in the bathtub in absolute submission. Her body quivered and writhed and surrendered to what her mind couldn't comprehend.
~Let go.~
Oh. Oh, gods... So much to feel. So much. Her hands, rougher than the ones she couldn't see, moved down her body, pressed between slick folds and stroked her over-sensitized skin with greedy need.
Nails bit. Teeth scraped. And then something-someone-was filling her.
~Zack.~
She felt him there, held him there, and when her head snapped back and pleasure swelled, unfurled like a flower blossoming, and she came in a long rolling wave it was his name she called out.
~X~
She wasn't sure she could move.
Soft and wet and sated she blinked open too-heavy eyelids.
Her fingertips were prune-like and the water in the tub had gone chill. Tifa struggled to her feet on wobbly legs, gripped the towel from the bar and twisted it around her middle. How long had she been in there?
She must have fallen asleep.
She stepped from the tub, pulled the plug and listened to the gurgle of water flowing down the drain. At the sink, she brushed out her long hair. The mirror above reflected a fresh face and eyes that were tinged red. She looked...content.
She felt content, she realized; surprised.
She glanced back at the bathtub, felt her stomach do a small flip, and she tried to piece together the hazy images in her head. That had to be the strangest dream she'd ever had, she thought, as she turned off the light and stepped out into the hall.
There she stopped, frozen.
Flowers.
Everywhere.
Petals of white and pink and yellow littered the hardwood.
She took a hesitant step, then another, scattering the blossoms as she followed the trail to her bedroom door. She found flowers in there as well, though not scattered petals. They lay on the corner of her bed, a small bundle with a pink ribbon around the stems.
Her breath caught, hitched and fell from parted lips on a near sacred name, “Aerith.”
Warmth and solace flowed through her, surrounded her, swelled and ebbed into a peaceful tranquility. It was as though her very soul was being embraced.
"You didn't think we forgot about you, did you, Tifa?"
The voice was in her head, in her ears, and in her heart all at once. Featherlight kisses rained against her cheek and soft, nearly-there breaths warmed her neck.
And as she was pressed into the softness of her mattress, her towel falling unheeded to the floor, the drab gray of loneliness was chased from her heart with soft strokes of lips and lingering touches of invisible hands.
In the morning she could pretend it was just an erotic dream, but not tonight.
Not on this night.
This was her night to remember.
Author: windrider1
Rating: R
Warnings: implied sex, mild angst
Word count: 1409
Prompt: Final Fantasy VII, Aeris/Tifa/Zack: repairing loneliness - "You didn't think we forgot about you, did you Tifa?"
The bath was hot-so hot that her skin was pink and tingling within seconds. Steam rose like dancing ribbons from the water, drifted over white tile and smeared itself wantonly against mirrored glass.
Tifa gave a long sigh as she settled back. She closed her eyes, tilted her head and let the water erase the hard stiffness from her shoulders. She ached from head to toes, having spent her afternoon and evening completing every household task she could think of.
The walls were washed, the trash removed, the dishes done, clothing sewn and repaired-mostly Cloud's-and all of the rooms scrubbed and scoured to a spotless shine. She organized the liquor, replenished the stock, finished the grocery shopping, dropped the kids off at Elmyra's and painted the spare room.
She had also spent a good portion of the night waiting for a phone call that wasn't coming.
It shouldn't surprise her that he didn't remember. After all he hadn't mentioned it once in all these years. It wasn't Nibleheim, or Sephiroth, or Aerith. This pain was hers and hers alone.
Fifteen years. Had it really been so long since she'd seen her mother's face?
She tried to recall wavy hair, warm brown eyes and an easy smile, but found the image faded, blurry and distorted by time. She had no pictures in which to refresh her memory. All of those had been lost-burnt to the ground with the rest of her childhood.
Absently, her fingers brushed against the earring dangling from her left ear. It wasn't like her to dwell on all of the things she'd lost, couldn't remember, and would never have again, because she knew better than most that it wouldn't change anything.
She was adept at pretending that everything was all right...that she was all right. She had become an expert at feeling one thing while portraying another, but not tonight.
Not on this night.
This was her night to remember.
The hollow, empty ache inside of her refused to be ignored.
Disgusted by her own self pity, Tifa wrapped her arms around herself and slid down. Down...down....
The water closed over her head and the sound of her own heart drummed in her ears. She lay flat, eyes closed and wondered how long she could hide beneath the surface, immersed in the warmth before the need for air would pull her up to once more be shackled by loneliness.
A giggle. Light and airy rippled across the water and through her.
Tifa's eyes popped opened and she sat up abruptly with her hands clutched against the scar on her chest, sloshing water over the side of the tub. A glance around the bathroom revealed her to be alone, but she felt anything but. As foolish as it was, she called out, “Hello?”
No response.
Not that there should have been one.
She was alone.
She was so alone..
Always alone.
A touch, featherlight and fleeting-perhaps a breeze from the hall-swept over her skin, leaving a trail of goose flesh in its wake. A soft tickle stirred the fine hair on her ear. ~Not alone~ it seemed to whisper and Tifa caught the elusive impression of hair, dark as a raven's wing and laughing blue eyes.
She rubbed her hands down her face and expelled a shaky breath. She was tired. Too tired, and too emotionally raw, and she may very well have slipped over the edge into crazy-town.
She felt drunk and heavy, although she'd had only one drink that night. Her thoughts slipped like sand through fingers. She couldn't grasp any one of them long enough to make sense of it.
She jerked reflexively when she felt a hand, delicate and smooth, glide up her legs. It was no more than a brush, the barest whisper of contact, but she felt it. The shock of it had her gasping, and instinct had her legs snapping together.
Another giggle in her head, but like her drifting thoughts, it was there and gone.
That same almost-fingers sensation trailed over her shoulders, over the long scar between her breasts and then back up to stroke through wet tresses. Lips, and a light hint of teeth skimmed the side of her neck.
~Relax...~
The room, thick with steam and the scent of flowers, blurred and tilted dangerously askew.
~We're here for you...You're not alone...~
Tifa was gently eased back, her head resting against the tub. She closed her eyes. Auburn hair, moss green eyes, and a sunbeam smile that refused to fade flitted behind her eyelids. This wasn't real. She wasn't hearing these voices. She was quietly taking a bath before going to bed. Nothing more.
And that's when it happened.
The water, warm and fluid, lapped over her, and coated her with pleasure. There was no other way to describe it. She was caught in a kaleidescope spin of sensual awareness. She cried out, shocked, when she felt the first tremors of an unannounced orgasm ripple through her. Her hands flailed, slipped and slid against the curve of the tub as she struggled to find purchase amidst the swirling sensations wreaking havoc on her body.
A tug on her hair.
A bite to her shoulder.
Hands on her breasts.
Hard muscles.
A soft smile.
Green eyes.
Black hair.
A press of lips.
A swirl of tongue.
She had no defense against it, nor could she claim she wanted one. Greedily she sobbed and arched and spread herself to the heat, and was rewarded when it didn't stop.
She sprawled in the bathtub in absolute submission. Her body quivered and writhed and surrendered to what her mind couldn't comprehend.
~Let go.~
Oh. Oh, gods... So much to feel. So much. Her hands, rougher than the ones she couldn't see, moved down her body, pressed between slick folds and stroked her over-sensitized skin with greedy need.
Nails bit. Teeth scraped. And then something-someone-was filling her.
~Zack.~
She felt him there, held him there, and when her head snapped back and pleasure swelled, unfurled like a flower blossoming, and she came in a long rolling wave it was his name she called out.
~X~
She wasn't sure she could move.
Soft and wet and sated she blinked open too-heavy eyelids.
Her fingertips were prune-like and the water in the tub had gone chill. Tifa struggled to her feet on wobbly legs, gripped the towel from the bar and twisted it around her middle. How long had she been in there?
She must have fallen asleep.
She stepped from the tub, pulled the plug and listened to the gurgle of water flowing down the drain. At the sink, she brushed out her long hair. The mirror above reflected a fresh face and eyes that were tinged red. She looked...content.
She felt content, she realized; surprised.
She glanced back at the bathtub, felt her stomach do a small flip, and she tried to piece together the hazy images in her head. That had to be the strangest dream she'd ever had, she thought, as she turned off the light and stepped out into the hall.
There she stopped, frozen.
Flowers.
Everywhere.
Petals of white and pink and yellow littered the hardwood.
She took a hesitant step, then another, scattering the blossoms as she followed the trail to her bedroom door. She found flowers in there as well, though not scattered petals. They lay on the corner of her bed, a small bundle with a pink ribbon around the stems.
Her breath caught, hitched and fell from parted lips on a near sacred name, “Aerith.”
Warmth and solace flowed through her, surrounded her, swelled and ebbed into a peaceful tranquility. It was as though her very soul was being embraced.
"You didn't think we forgot about you, did you, Tifa?"
The voice was in her head, in her ears, and in her heart all at once. Featherlight kisses rained against her cheek and soft, nearly-there breaths warmed her neck.
And as she was pressed into the softness of her mattress, her towel falling unheeded to the floor, the drab gray of loneliness was chased from her heart with soft strokes of lips and lingering touches of invisible hands.
In the morning she could pretend it was just an erotic dream, but not tonight.
Not on this night.
This was her night to remember.