[Thread, Closed]

[heartofheaven]

Characters: Cloud and Tifa
Progress: Complete
Summary: Cloud and Tifa reunite in Lindblum.
Location: Lindblum Grand Castle
Date: January 1803
Warnings: Stressed-out parents.

Comments

[loveandstrife]

Returning from his meeting with Tidus, Cloud was actually pretty happy. Sure, he'd put up with the younger blonde's twitching and idiotic way of trying to deny the blatant truth but the fact that they'd made that breakthrough was just too good a thing not to be happy about it. Of course, he wasn't stupid and he knew he was in for hell when he got back.

Making his way inside and having to be directed to the right room, Cloud pushed the door open quietly, his eyes falling on Tifa from behind his sunglasses. Silently, he slipped his swords off his back, leaning them against the wall with the smallest sigh of relief from the strain on his back.

Well, now he was waiting for his lecture.

[heartofheaven]

Tifa's lips tightened as she watched Cloud come in. Part of her was simply glad to see him - the part that made her heart beat faster and her breath hitch. Damn him. Her stomach had tied itself in knots, but she didn't show any of that. She remained seated, with her hands pressed primly against her knees.

"You're late."

[loveandstrife]

"I went to meet Tidus. He needed to talk." His words came out far too relaxed considering how he knew he was in trouble with her, but Cloud proceeded to remove his sunglasses and the shoulder guard he wore.

Pulling his boots off, Cloud sighed slightly, sitting in the chair across from her, rubbing the back of his neck.

[heartofheaven]

Tifa leaned towards him as she spoke, her voice becoming increasingly aggravated. "Tidus needed to talk? What about us? Did you forget my last message? Those exact words - I said that we needed to talk."

She sighed, looking away from Cloud. "I suppose it must have been very important. More important than seeing me."

[loveandstrife]

"It was important. I always come home, Tifa, you know that." Well, except for that time when he had Geostigma but that was different, or so Cloud would keep telling himself. He wasn't running away from anything now, not anymore.

Looking at the brunette, he frowned, knowing he'd made a bad choice. Cloud just... wasn't the greatest with words - especially apologies.

[heartofheaven]

Of course, the memory of the time he had left her still hurt. Tifa wouldn't admit it, but it was a wound that could be easily opened.

"I know, but that's not the point," she insisted. "Couldn't you have stuck your head around the door? Couldn't you have told us in person? Taken the time to see your sick son?" She slammed her hand down on the couch, eyes filling with angry tears. "Denzel is... He's holding on because of you, Cloud. But you couldn't get out of the castle fast enough. I had to tell him, I had to watch his face crumple..."

[loveandstrife]

Cloud's gaze instantly hit the floor and he searched for his words, coming up short. Opening and closing his mouth a few times in false starts, the blonde shook his head slightly, still searching the fine carpet of the fairytale room.

"I..." Again, he paused, unsure of what he could do to back up his own argument. Of course, he knew that backing it up was the wrong thing to do anyway. He was in the wrong and should admit to it, especially considering the newest layer of guilt that settled over his growing collection stung rather bitterly. He had no excuse. No reason aside from his selfishness.

"I'm sorry."

[heartofheaven]

Tifa's face softened at his apology. At least he understood. "Just... next time, think. We have responsibilities now. We can't let the children down, not for a second."

[loveandstrife]

"Okay..." Cloud swallowed thickly, tempted to just strip off and go to bed now he'd suffered her verbal bashing. Of course, he wouldn't. He'd spend the rest of the night, possibly the month, guilt-tripping himself but that was his own personal issue now.

Shifting to his feet, Cloud found his place beside her, quietly just holding her hand. While he wasn't the most expressive of people, he was getting to be, gradually, and it surfaced most with Tifa.

[heartofheaven]

What Tifa hadn't mentioned there was how she felt let down. Maybe Cloud got it, maybe he didn't. His quiet acceptance was almost annoying. Tifa was used to letting out her frustrations by punching something. She didn't have that opportunity right now.

She squeezed his hand, staring at him. "Is that it?"

[loveandstrife]

Cloud frowned at her, sighing an instant later. "I'm sorry," he repeated, unaware of exactly what she wanted from him. His gloved fingers twitched in her grasp and the blonde let his gaze wander around the room.

"I should've let you know. I was... selfish." He shook his head at himself, his hand squeezing hers again.

[heartofheaven]

"Damn right you were."

She was trying to hold onto the anger; one look at Cloud's baby blue eyes and it threatened to dissipate, but she'd been carrying this weight of emotions for days, weeks even - the constant worry, the battles, blundering through this world and still not understanding how any of this had happened, people appearing and disappearing, and all through that it felt as though she and Cloud had only snatched brief moments alone together and goodness knows she'd waited a long time to see him again-

Screw holding hands. She couldn't punch him, so Tifa did the next best thing, and pulled him towards her to kiss him hard on the mouth.

[loveandstrife]

He'd actually been about to become more vocal, having found a few words he actually wanted to say but, out of nowhere, Tifa had taken the situation in a totally different direction and Cloud could only go along with her, his hand sliding up against her cheek, wandering to the back of her neck.

This was something he really wasn't used to. He and Tifa ambled through life focussing on everyone but themselves. They didn't have time for this. Not at home, not here. It was the rarest of moments. So, of course, Cloud was going to take advantage of the fact. She was his girlfriend, damnit, and he was tired of acting like they were just friends who looked after kids together.

If they were a family-- if he was dad and she was mom, then it was about time they started damn well acting like it.

[heartofheaven]

Tifa curled her hands around his back, fingernails digging in slightly. She wasn't being gentle; this was a moment of open, raw emotion and words after all were a poor way of expressing that.

She pulled away long enough to say, "I missed you," before kissing him again. She wanted to focus only on Cloud, as much as she possibly could, but all the things they had to talk about were at the forefront of her mind. Still. She could have this moment.

[loveandstrife]

The fingernails on his back weren't exactly helping keep Cloud calm. Like any man, he was insanely attracted to Tifa and she was suddenly being friendlier than normal, which had him pulling her tight against him, his firm chest against hers.

When she spoke, Cloud managed to mutter out, "Missed you, too," in the second before she kissed him again. His hands wandered, one pressing to the small of her back while the other grasped her shoulder, itching to get a feel of her in an entirely different place.

[heartofheaven]

Tifa was normally friendly. This wasn't friendly in the conventional sense. She pressed him down on the couch, straddling him.

"We still have to talk," she reminded him. "The kids are out for now, but when they come back..."