[Fic] "Two Guys and a Girl," part 6 -- Final Fantasy 7 (Mercverse AU); NaNo; writing goals
This story is set about ten years before main mercverse canon, insofar as this AU can be said to have any canon. :-) So. "Two Guys and a Girl," in which I bend, staple, and otherwise mutilate normal game canon involving trips to Nibelheim, because seriously, what's the point of crack AUs if you can't play around like this?
---------------------------------------------
Two Guys and a Girl: Part 6
---------------------------------------------
The inn was on the opposite side of town from Tifa's house, a small favor that let her mostly finish her stew before her father arrived. Zack either picked up on her mood or was absolutely starving, because he made no real attempt at conversation, just shoveled food into his mouth. Cloud, on the other hand, savored Marta Firth's stew like it was some exotic gourmet dish.
"There's something about Nibel air, and the smoke from pine fires, that doesn't taste quite like anywhere else in the world," he said in response to Tifa's funny look. "It brings back a number of things I'd forgotten."
Tifa wondered again just how old Cloud was -- sometimes he acted like he wasn't much older than Zack, but just then he sounded like he was a thousand years old.
She heard her father coming a minute later; his shoes clicked against the paving stones, and he was breathing hard from hurrying across town. She set her spoon down beside her bowl, braced herself, and looked up to meet his eyes.
"Mayor Lockheart?" said Cloud, before Tifa's father opened his mouth. "Pleased to meet you -- I'm Cloud Strife and this is Zachary, my ward. He met your daughter earlier today, and she graciously showed him around your town, and helped us start putting the Shinra mansion back into habitable condition. I'm very grateful to her, and I apologize if we caused you any concern."
He gestured to the empty chair at their table, which Zack hastily pulled out. "I'm afraid we can't offer more than bread at the moment, but if you'd care to join us, I'm sure Mrs. Firth will be willing to provide a full meal."
Tifa gaped.
It was small consolation that her father was gaping too, apparently unsure what to make of Cloud, and completely knocked off track from his intended lecture. "Ah, thank you, but that won't be necessary," he managed after a long pause. "Tifa and I should be getting home."
"But--" started Tifa, and then glared at Zack for kicking her ankle.
'Watch this,' Zack mouthed, tipping his head toward Cloud. He grinned.
"Would it be too much trouble to wait until she's finished her dinner?" Cloud asked, sounding like he really cared what her father thought, and really did feel sorry for putting him through any trouble. "And I do apologize again for not thinking to call you at lunch, to let you know your daughter was safe."
Tifa's father finally dropped into the empty chair and ran a hand over his sweaty face. "Um, Mr. Strife, was it? I suppose I can wait a few minutes."
"Thank you," said Cloud, and smiled.
Mr. Lockheart blinked. Tifa and Zack exchanged a knowing look, and Zack fluttered his fingers surreptitiously over his heart. "He gets everyone like that, even when he doesn't mean to," he said, leaning around the table corner to whisper in Tifa's ear. "You should see him at court, surrounded by all these lacy idiots and looking like he's a heartbeat from running away or pulling out his sword. Funniest thing ever... especially the time when two of the idiots tried to fight a duel over which one of them he'd really been smiling at."
"So what happened?" Tifa whispered back.
"Turks broke it up before Cloud stopped laughing. See, technically, it's an insult to claim the favor of the royal family without their express consent -- even if 'favor' is something as stupid as a smile -- so both the idiots got banned from Midgar for a year and their families had to pay fines." Zack sighed. "It was seriously funny, though, especially since neither one knew a damn thing about actual fighting."
Tifa pictured high nobles, in the latest Midgar fashions, fighting a formal duel. They'd probably use rapiers so fancy and decorated they'd be next to useless in a real battle, and issue longwinded challenges that any real fighter would interrupt halfway through for the advantage of surprise. She wondered if they'd faint at a minor wound.
"Zack? It's not polite to exclude guests from the conversation," Cloud said. "Since you seem to be finished, go ask Mrs. Firth for a cup of tea. Oolong preferably, but almost anything will do so long as it's hot and not coffee."
Zack rolled his eyes, but he stood and headed into the inn.
Tifa's father took advantage of his absence to begin questioning Cloud. "So, Mr. Strife, you and your ward are staying at the old Shinra mansion. They haven't rented that place for years -- how is it that you acquired tenancy?"
Tifa slumped in her chair, wishing her father weren't so hideously blunt. It was especially embarrassing since Cloud owned the mansion. She wondered if he'd explain that, or if he wanted to keep his blood secret.
"Family connections," Cloud said. Amusement lurked in his eyes, but he kept his face admirably straight. "I needed to get Zack out of Midgar before he did anything unfortunate at court -- he's a fine young man, but he chafes under court manners, as many teenagers do -- and Nibelheim seemed like an ideal place to both let him burn off some excess energy and teach him to socialize in a structured community."
Cloud folded his hands on the table and leaned slightly toward Mr. Lockheart, as if confiding in a fellow adult. "I'm afraid some of Zack's problems are my own fault, for not helping him find other friends when he was younger, and I hope that you and the people of Nibelheim will make him feel welcome. As I mentioned before, I'm extremely grateful to Tifa for befriending him this morning. She gave him an excellent first impression of your town."
"Well, Tifa's a fine girl," said Mr. Lockheart, wavering between pride, opportunism, and the remnants of his anger. "I'm sure Nibelheim is a much better place for a young fellow than Midgar, and we'll all be glad to help you settle in."
"Wonderful," said Cloud. "And now, since Tifa seems to be finished with her dinner, I won't delay you any further. I look forward to seeing you both in the future. Perhaps Tifa could stop by the mansion for lunch tomorrow?" He smiled again.
"Lunch, fine," Tifa's father said, looking a bit dazed. "Good evening, Mr. Strife. Tifa, come along." He stood and looked expectantly at her.
Tifa cast a longing glance toward the inn, hoping for Zack to come out and save her somehow, but the door remained stubbornly closed. Cloud made little shooing gestures behind the cover of his bowl, where her father couldn't see. Tifa sighed. She'd wanted to stay with Zack and Cloud, even if that meant sleeping where ghosts might drift through the walls and touch her, but at least her father wasn't angry anymore, and she had permission to go back to the mansion tomorrow.
"Bye, Cloud. Tell Zack I'll see him later," she said, and followed her father down the street.
---------------------------------------------
Halfway home, her father cleared his throat. "These Strifes seem like reasonable people -- I'm sorry I didn't trust you earlier -- and they must have good connections. What have you learned about them?"
Tifa rapidly considered all the things she could tell him... and locked them away. They weren't her secrets to spill. "They didn't talk much about themselves, but I think Cloud's nobility. He adopted Zack a while ago, as his heir, and they live in Midgar. I think they're rich, but they don't make a big deal about it. And Cloud grew up somewhere in the Nibel mountains, but Zack's from Midgar. That's all."
"Ah." Her father drummed his fingers against his thigh, considering. "I want our town to make a good impression -- perhaps they'll be willing to sponsor the nature tours, or revive the plan to make the glitter caves into a royal park." Then he smiled and tapped her nose, the way he used to do before the accident; Tifa frowned. "I think that Zachary Strife likes you, princess. You could do a lot worse..."
"Dad!" Tifa clenched her hands and reminded herself that she was trained -- she was in control of her impulses -- and she wouldn't hit her father, no matter how much he insulted her. "I'm not going to get married just because a guy has money or a title! I'm going to have my own life! And Zack's too goofy, anyway, not like--"
"Like his guardian?" her father finished when Tifa snapped her mouth shut. She flushed, and he laughed. "Cloud Strife is a bit old for you, Tifa, but you're still young. It's all right to have big dreams. Just remember that most dreams don't ever become reality; the world isn't that kind."
"Then the world needs to change," Tifa muttered, thinking about the dead demons and whatever Cloud had found in the mansion basement.
"And you'll be the one who changes things?" her father said, leading her up the steps to their front porch. He unlatched the door and flicked on the lights, and stood aside to let Tifa into the house. "That's a good dream. Unlikely, but if you dream big, even your failures are likely to be interesting. Now go finish the chores you ought to have done this afternoon, and get some sleep. You want to keep making a good impression on the Strifes, after all."
"Whatever," Tifa said, and hurried upstairs to clean the bathroom.
---------------------------------------------
She had already changed into her pajamas and switched off her bedroom light when it suddenly occurred to Tifa that she didn't have to wait until tomorrow to see Zack and Cloud again. Her father would be in his study with the door shut, going over accounts, reports, and complaints for the next town meeting, and he never checked on her once he'd said goodnight. She could sneak out, leave a note by the coffee-maker claiming she'd eaten breakfast early and left for a walk, and spend the night at the mansion without anyone ever knowing.
Tifa changed into tomorrow's clothes, stuffed her pajamas into a pillowcase, grabbed a hairbrush and toothbrush (she didn't believe Zack actually brushed his hair, and sharing toothbrushes was kind of gross), and sneaked down the stairs to the cellar, pulling her summer jacket off its hook on her way.
The network of tunnels that connected Nibelheim and doubled as roads during midwinter were more like extensions of people's basements than proper roads -- instead of running under the streets, with each basement having an access tunnel, they'd been dug piecemeal from house to house, so they twisted and linked in unexpected ways. Tifa knew them more or less by heart, made sure to carry a flashlight with her. You never could tell when people might rearrange their cellars, after all, and she didn't want to trip over anything and call attention to herself.
It took nearly an hour of careful travel before she reached the surface access at the edge of town, near the road to the mansion. She lifted the trapdoor, checked to make sure nobody was watching, and set off into the woods.
This was probably very stupid -- the wolves were solitary during the summer, and didn't usually attack humans, but there was always that off chance -- but she had to get out of her house. Tifa wasn't sure why that need was suddenly so strong, but she had to see Zack and Cloud again, had to talk to someone who hadn't spent all his life in Nibelheim and couldn't understand why she wanted to get out.
Darkness pooled under the trees and fell thickly across the road, but the sky was clear and the moon nearly full, and the stars shone bright and steady through the crisp mountain air. After a minute, Tifa switched off her flashlight; it would probably attract more attention than she wanted, and on the road she could see well enough without it.
Soon she reached the fence around the mansion, and hesitated, one hand on the gate. The mansion, which sagged pathetically during the day, seemed grander and more foreboding at night, as if shadows helped shore up its walls and might reach out to twine around her ankles at any second. To her left, down the fence, a twig snapped.
Tifa dashed through the gate and up to the door without looking to see if the ghost of the half-eaten scientist was following her.
---------------------------------------------
End Part 6
Back to Part 5
Continue to Part 7
original post and comments
---------------------------------------------
Final NaNo Word Count:
11/24/06 -- 0 words
11/25/06 -- 425 words (425 on "Lemonade")
11/26/06 -- 500 words (500 on "Secrets")
11/27/06 -- 2,150 words (2,150 on "Secrets")
11/28/06 -- 1,475 words (75 on "#14 - Forbidden," 1,400 on "Secrets")
11/29/06 -- 1,525 words (1,525 on "Two Guys and a Girl")
11/30/06 -- 1,550 words (375 and 200 on "Two Guys and a Girl," 975 on "Secrets")
Final Total: 25,175 words
---------------------------------------------
My new writing goals:
1. Finish chapter 9 of "Guardian" and chapter 10 of "Lemonade" by Christmas.
2. Finish "Secrets" by my birthday. (Backup plan: finish it by my sister's birthday. Backup of the backup, finish it by the story's 5-year anniversary. Because I have been working on "Secrets" for WAY TOO LONG NOW, and it's getting very embarrassing not to have it done already.)
3. Finish "Undertow" by New Year's.
4. Come up with some sort of ending to "Strange Likenesses" by my birthday, because I don't want to delete it from the internet, but having a permanently unfinished story out there is going to itch like fire at the back of my mind.
Somehow I doubt I'll reach all these goals, but I think having publicly stated them, I'll be a bit more motivated to show some sort of progress.
---------------------------------------------
Two Guys and a Girl: Part 6
---------------------------------------------
The inn was on the opposite side of town from Tifa's house, a small favor that let her mostly finish her stew before her father arrived. Zack either picked up on her mood or was absolutely starving, because he made no real attempt at conversation, just shoveled food into his mouth. Cloud, on the other hand, savored Marta Firth's stew like it was some exotic gourmet dish.
"There's something about Nibel air, and the smoke from pine fires, that doesn't taste quite like anywhere else in the world," he said in response to Tifa's funny look. "It brings back a number of things I'd forgotten."
Tifa wondered again just how old Cloud was -- sometimes he acted like he wasn't much older than Zack, but just then he sounded like he was a thousand years old.
She heard her father coming a minute later; his shoes clicked against the paving stones, and he was breathing hard from hurrying across town. She set her spoon down beside her bowl, braced herself, and looked up to meet his eyes.
"Mayor Lockheart?" said Cloud, before Tifa's father opened his mouth. "Pleased to meet you -- I'm Cloud Strife and this is Zachary, my ward. He met your daughter earlier today, and she graciously showed him around your town, and helped us start putting the Shinra mansion back into habitable condition. I'm very grateful to her, and I apologize if we caused you any concern."
He gestured to the empty chair at their table, which Zack hastily pulled out. "I'm afraid we can't offer more than bread at the moment, but if you'd care to join us, I'm sure Mrs. Firth will be willing to provide a full meal."
Tifa gaped.
It was small consolation that her father was gaping too, apparently unsure what to make of Cloud, and completely knocked off track from his intended lecture. "Ah, thank you, but that won't be necessary," he managed after a long pause. "Tifa and I should be getting home."
"But--" started Tifa, and then glared at Zack for kicking her ankle.
'Watch this,' Zack mouthed, tipping his head toward Cloud. He grinned.
"Would it be too much trouble to wait until she's finished her dinner?" Cloud asked, sounding like he really cared what her father thought, and really did feel sorry for putting him through any trouble. "And I do apologize again for not thinking to call you at lunch, to let you know your daughter was safe."
Tifa's father finally dropped into the empty chair and ran a hand over his sweaty face. "Um, Mr. Strife, was it? I suppose I can wait a few minutes."
"Thank you," said Cloud, and smiled.
Mr. Lockheart blinked. Tifa and Zack exchanged a knowing look, and Zack fluttered his fingers surreptitiously over his heart. "He gets everyone like that, even when he doesn't mean to," he said, leaning around the table corner to whisper in Tifa's ear. "You should see him at court, surrounded by all these lacy idiots and looking like he's a heartbeat from running away or pulling out his sword. Funniest thing ever... especially the time when two of the idiots tried to fight a duel over which one of them he'd really been smiling at."
"So what happened?" Tifa whispered back.
"Turks broke it up before Cloud stopped laughing. See, technically, it's an insult to claim the favor of the royal family without their express consent -- even if 'favor' is something as stupid as a smile -- so both the idiots got banned from Midgar for a year and their families had to pay fines." Zack sighed. "It was seriously funny, though, especially since neither one knew a damn thing about actual fighting."
Tifa pictured high nobles, in the latest Midgar fashions, fighting a formal duel. They'd probably use rapiers so fancy and decorated they'd be next to useless in a real battle, and issue longwinded challenges that any real fighter would interrupt halfway through for the advantage of surprise. She wondered if they'd faint at a minor wound.
"Zack? It's not polite to exclude guests from the conversation," Cloud said. "Since you seem to be finished, go ask Mrs. Firth for a cup of tea. Oolong preferably, but almost anything will do so long as it's hot and not coffee."
Zack rolled his eyes, but he stood and headed into the inn.
Tifa's father took advantage of his absence to begin questioning Cloud. "So, Mr. Strife, you and your ward are staying at the old Shinra mansion. They haven't rented that place for years -- how is it that you acquired tenancy?"
Tifa slumped in her chair, wishing her father weren't so hideously blunt. It was especially embarrassing since Cloud owned the mansion. She wondered if he'd explain that, or if he wanted to keep his blood secret.
"Family connections," Cloud said. Amusement lurked in his eyes, but he kept his face admirably straight. "I needed to get Zack out of Midgar before he did anything unfortunate at court -- he's a fine young man, but he chafes under court manners, as many teenagers do -- and Nibelheim seemed like an ideal place to both let him burn off some excess energy and teach him to socialize in a structured community."
Cloud folded his hands on the table and leaned slightly toward Mr. Lockheart, as if confiding in a fellow adult. "I'm afraid some of Zack's problems are my own fault, for not helping him find other friends when he was younger, and I hope that you and the people of Nibelheim will make him feel welcome. As I mentioned before, I'm extremely grateful to Tifa for befriending him this morning. She gave him an excellent first impression of your town."
"Well, Tifa's a fine girl," said Mr. Lockheart, wavering between pride, opportunism, and the remnants of his anger. "I'm sure Nibelheim is a much better place for a young fellow than Midgar, and we'll all be glad to help you settle in."
"Wonderful," said Cloud. "And now, since Tifa seems to be finished with her dinner, I won't delay you any further. I look forward to seeing you both in the future. Perhaps Tifa could stop by the mansion for lunch tomorrow?" He smiled again.
"Lunch, fine," Tifa's father said, looking a bit dazed. "Good evening, Mr. Strife. Tifa, come along." He stood and looked expectantly at her.
Tifa cast a longing glance toward the inn, hoping for Zack to come out and save her somehow, but the door remained stubbornly closed. Cloud made little shooing gestures behind the cover of his bowl, where her father couldn't see. Tifa sighed. She'd wanted to stay with Zack and Cloud, even if that meant sleeping where ghosts might drift through the walls and touch her, but at least her father wasn't angry anymore, and she had permission to go back to the mansion tomorrow.
"Bye, Cloud. Tell Zack I'll see him later," she said, and followed her father down the street.
---------------------------------------------
Halfway home, her father cleared his throat. "These Strifes seem like reasonable people -- I'm sorry I didn't trust you earlier -- and they must have good connections. What have you learned about them?"
Tifa rapidly considered all the things she could tell him... and locked them away. They weren't her secrets to spill. "They didn't talk much about themselves, but I think Cloud's nobility. He adopted Zack a while ago, as his heir, and they live in Midgar. I think they're rich, but they don't make a big deal about it. And Cloud grew up somewhere in the Nibel mountains, but Zack's from Midgar. That's all."
"Ah." Her father drummed his fingers against his thigh, considering. "I want our town to make a good impression -- perhaps they'll be willing to sponsor the nature tours, or revive the plan to make the glitter caves into a royal park." Then he smiled and tapped her nose, the way he used to do before the accident; Tifa frowned. "I think that Zachary Strife likes you, princess. You could do a lot worse..."
"Dad!" Tifa clenched her hands and reminded herself that she was trained -- she was in control of her impulses -- and she wouldn't hit her father, no matter how much he insulted her. "I'm not going to get married just because a guy has money or a title! I'm going to have my own life! And Zack's too goofy, anyway, not like--"
"Like his guardian?" her father finished when Tifa snapped her mouth shut. She flushed, and he laughed. "Cloud Strife is a bit old for you, Tifa, but you're still young. It's all right to have big dreams. Just remember that most dreams don't ever become reality; the world isn't that kind."
"Then the world needs to change," Tifa muttered, thinking about the dead demons and whatever Cloud had found in the mansion basement.
"And you'll be the one who changes things?" her father said, leading her up the steps to their front porch. He unlatched the door and flicked on the lights, and stood aside to let Tifa into the house. "That's a good dream. Unlikely, but if you dream big, even your failures are likely to be interesting. Now go finish the chores you ought to have done this afternoon, and get some sleep. You want to keep making a good impression on the Strifes, after all."
"Whatever," Tifa said, and hurried upstairs to clean the bathroom.
---------------------------------------------
She had already changed into her pajamas and switched off her bedroom light when it suddenly occurred to Tifa that she didn't have to wait until tomorrow to see Zack and Cloud again. Her father would be in his study with the door shut, going over accounts, reports, and complaints for the next town meeting, and he never checked on her once he'd said goodnight. She could sneak out, leave a note by the coffee-maker claiming she'd eaten breakfast early and left for a walk, and spend the night at the mansion without anyone ever knowing.
Tifa changed into tomorrow's clothes, stuffed her pajamas into a pillowcase, grabbed a hairbrush and toothbrush (she didn't believe Zack actually brushed his hair, and sharing toothbrushes was kind of gross), and sneaked down the stairs to the cellar, pulling her summer jacket off its hook on her way.
The network of tunnels that connected Nibelheim and doubled as roads during midwinter were more like extensions of people's basements than proper roads -- instead of running under the streets, with each basement having an access tunnel, they'd been dug piecemeal from house to house, so they twisted and linked in unexpected ways. Tifa knew them more or less by heart, made sure to carry a flashlight with her. You never could tell when people might rearrange their cellars, after all, and she didn't want to trip over anything and call attention to herself.
It took nearly an hour of careful travel before she reached the surface access at the edge of town, near the road to the mansion. She lifted the trapdoor, checked to make sure nobody was watching, and set off into the woods.
This was probably very stupid -- the wolves were solitary during the summer, and didn't usually attack humans, but there was always that off chance -- but she had to get out of her house. Tifa wasn't sure why that need was suddenly so strong, but she had to see Zack and Cloud again, had to talk to someone who hadn't spent all his life in Nibelheim and couldn't understand why she wanted to get out.
Darkness pooled under the trees and fell thickly across the road, but the sky was clear and the moon nearly full, and the stars shone bright and steady through the crisp mountain air. After a minute, Tifa switched off her flashlight; it would probably attract more attention than she wanted, and on the road she could see well enough without it.
Soon she reached the fence around the mansion, and hesitated, one hand on the gate. The mansion, which sagged pathetically during the day, seemed grander and more foreboding at night, as if shadows helped shore up its walls and might reach out to twine around her ankles at any second. To her left, down the fence, a twig snapped.
Tifa dashed through the gate and up to the door without looking to see if the ghost of the half-eaten scientist was following her.
---------------------------------------------
End Part 6
Back to Part 5
Continue to Part 7
original post and comments
---------------------------------------------
Final NaNo Word Count:
11/24/06 -- 0 words
11/25/06 -- 425 words (425 on "Lemonade")
11/26/06 -- 500 words (500 on "Secrets")
11/27/06 -- 2,150 words (2,150 on "Secrets")
11/28/06 -- 1,475 words (75 on "#14 - Forbidden," 1,400 on "Secrets")
11/29/06 -- 1,525 words (1,525 on "Two Guys and a Girl")
11/30/06 -- 1,550 words (375 and 200 on "Two Guys and a Girl," 975 on "Secrets")
Final Total: 25,175 words
---------------------------------------------
My new writing goals:
1. Finish chapter 9 of "Guardian" and chapter 10 of "Lemonade" by Christmas.
2. Finish "Secrets" by my birthday. (Backup plan: finish it by my sister's birthday. Backup of the backup, finish it by the story's 5-year anniversary. Because I have been working on "Secrets" for WAY TOO LONG NOW, and it's getting very embarrassing not to have it done already.)
3. Finish "Undertow" by New Year's.
4. Come up with some sort of ending to "Strange Likenesses" by my birthday, because I don't want to delete it from the internet, but having a permanently unfinished story out there is going to itch like fire at the back of my mind.
Somehow I doubt I'll reach all these goals, but I think having publicly stated them, I'll be a bit more motivated to show some sort of progress.