Things Are Never What We Want Them To Be

[loveandstrife]

Characters: Everyone under the Strife-Lockhart roof.
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Cloud and Tifa have a few choice words for each other
Location: Lindblum
Date: February 1804
Warnings: Screaming, shouting, angst, drama, ohhhh the drama!

[OOC: Cloud and Tifa will have their own thread, the rest of you are welcome to react in a subthread.]

Comments

[heartofheaven]

Tifa had arrived back some time earlier, her mind full of the things she'd heard from Matoya. But when she actually walked into the house and discovered that Cloud wasn't there, all of that was for the moment forgotten. He'd abandoned the kids to go off to Wutai with Aerith to heal Sephiroth. And neither of them had told her.

He'd lied to her, that was the worst thing; he'd made a promise and he hadn't kept it. What on earth was she supposed to think?

Tifa was sitting on the bed with her hands clenched in her lap when Cloud entered. She looked up, and spoke in the icily quiet tones of someone who was about to explode.

"Did you have a good time in Wutai, Cloud?"

[loveandstrife]

"Not really," he replied, closing the door and not even bothering to take his sword off his back to set it down.

Cloud could see how angry she was and that tone spoke volumes, but he was going to attempt to stand his ground, even if he expected it probably wouldn't work. He sighed softly, shaking his head. "Sephiroth didn't wake up." Not that she seemed particularly interested in what Sephiroth was doing or not doing right now.

Shrugging a little, Cloud crossed his arms.

[heartofheaven]

"Good," said Tifa harshly. "I hope he doesn't."

There was a pause while she fumbled for the right words - there were so many things she wanted to say, so many emotions threatening to spill out.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

[loveandstrife]

Cloud frowned at her, pausing silently for a long moment. He actually hoped Sephiroth did wake up, and that he was sane. He deserved a life as much as they did, or so Cloud thought.

Shrugging again, Cloud wandered over to the window, looking out quietly, unsure of what to say.

"You... would've just gotten mad or told me not to go."

FOR THE KIDS AND CID

[thisdesertrose]

Firion wanted to ask Cloud if he was okay as soon as the pale man walked through the door, but when the blond walked straight up the stairs, he refrained. The kids had been good while Cloud was gone, they stuck to training the dog and generally behaving.

But it seemed that even with Cid and Firion watching over them, Tifa wasn't happy. She also went straight to the bedroom as soon as she had gotten home. When Tifa started shouting and soon after, Cloud, Firion thought it best to usher the kids outside.

They didn't need to hear this. "Come on, let's play with the dog outside. He's been cooped up in the house all day, after all."

[littleprotector]

Marlene had been trying to ignore the fact that both Cloud and Tifa were in bad moods when they came home. She tried to ignore it by playing with the puppy and trying to have Firion explain things to her about how to train the dog and what to do it it does something weird.

But as the shouting got louder and louder, Marlene's smile slowly diminished. By the time Firion told them to go outside, Marlene was upset. Sure, they had got into arguments back home, but nothing like this. "They're not going to stay like this, are they Firion?"

[xnotyetaherox]

The sound of Cloud shouting was one of the worst sounds as far as Denzel was concerned. Things must be bad if he's raising his voice. The boy can't stand to hear Cloud and Tifa argue. But one thing he has learned from Cloud, unintentionally, is that you bottle things up and pretend everything's okay.

He took hold of Marlene's hand. "Everything will be okay, Marlene. I promise."

[thisdesertrose]

Firion gave a soft sigh and knelt before the kids. "They care for each other a lot, so I can't imagine them staying mad at each other for very long. I think both of them just decided to pretend things were okay. Fighting is never any fun but it looks like they kept their anger at bay for just a little too long."

He paused before starting up again. "It's as Denzel says, everything will be okay. I think... I think they both needed this for awhile. Once they cool off, things should go back to normal."

[thisdesertrose]

Firion looked over when Cloud ordered him to go with him. Go with him where?

"Cloud?" Firion stood up with a slight frown. "Where are we going?"

It wasn't really a question of would Firion go with Cloud, it was where and why. Not only that but the kids shouldn't be left alone in this. He doubted Tifa was happy right now and the kids were worried too. What was Cloud doing?

[loveandstrife]

"I don't know." He didn't have any clue where he planned to go, but he needed to get out.

Turning back, Cloud made his way through to the front door, snatching the Buster Sword off the wall and slamming it against the First Tsurugi, the blades crossed on his back. They were insanely heavy but he could manage them with relative ease. Thanks to the mako.

Heading out, he slipped his sunglasses on and took a slow breath in to try to calm himself down just a little bit.

[thisdesertrose]

Firion winced at the sound and gave the kids an apologetic look before walking through the house and gathering his stuff. He was only a guest, there wasn't much he could say about the family he was currently staying in but at the same time, even if he could, he wouldn't know what to say.

It was all incredibly awkward.

But without a way to really say no right now and he definitely didn't want Cloud going off on his own (no, not because he thought Cloud couldn't take care of himself or anything, but because he was a friend in need), so he gathered his belongings, murmured a small apology to Tifa as he walked out, and shut the door quietly.