[thread; closed]

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Characters: Cloud and Tifa
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: They finally reunite
Location: Lindblum
Date: November 1803
Warnings: Wibbles! Oh, the wibbles!!


Saying he was excited was an understatement. Cloud hadn't seen Tifa in a long time, well it seemed long to him, and getting to finally see her in person, and maybe even give her a hug was worth the wait. Waiting in the inn wasn't exactly fun, though. There were drunks and people getting rowdy, and whilst Cloud wasn't exactly the most collected of people, he didn't want to get dragged into any bar fights.

Shifting in his seat, with his back to the door, Cloud sipped his glass of water and continued flicking through his phone. Not his Sky Phone, but the one he usually carried. He tended to keep it switched off and occasionally switch it on to look at the pictures. He did wonder if he could transfer those onto his Sky Phone but he hadn't figured that out yet.

Either way, he'd have to think of something, soon. There was only half of the battery life left. Letting his gaze linger on a picture of Marlene and Denzel through his sunglasses, Cloud sighed slightly. He wanted to be sure they were safe. They might not have been his blood relatives, but whether he'd admit it or not, Marlene and Denzel were his daughter and son.

Comments

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa gazed into his bright blue eyes. "I missed you too."

She felt drawn to close the remaining distance between them, to kiss him, but she suddenly became acutely aware that they weren't alone. Her cheeks reddened as she looked around. This wasn't the place for a private conversation.

"Let's go to your room."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud gave a single nod, curling his hand around Tifa's. He led her to his room, remaining silent the entire time. It almost felt like they were teenagers sneaking into his room, but he hadn't felt truly like a kid since before Zack died. Before Nibelheim. Possibly before even then.

Once inside, Cloud removed his weapon, setting it against the wall and turning to look at Tifa with a soft, awkward smile.

"Can... can I ask you something?"

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Once in his room, Tifa removed her gloves and boots before sitting down on the bed with a soft sigh. She looked up at Cloud.

"What is it?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"...what are we? I mean, I've been through this conversation with you, but you haven't been through it with me..." He covered his face with his hand, sighing slightly.

"You understand, right? The whole year of time... a lot happened in that year."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

She could feel her heart fluttering. This could be either good or bad. Good, surely... He'd been wonderful with her, more openly affectionate - everything she'd hoped their relationship would develop into.

"Do you mean... The year you had that I didn't... did something change between us?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck before crossing to her, cupping her face gently in his gloved hands. Were he more outgoing, a little more like Zack, he'd have kissed her. And kissed her. And never let go. However, Cloud was a little shyer than that, so he simply looked at her.

For a long moment, his eyes were almost unblinking on her face. "...I told you before... well, I'll tell you in your future. You're..." Cloud looked away, a blush crossing his cheeks. All the courage in the world to face Sephiroth and he felt like he was about to throw up just doing this. Maybe that extra year was important. Maybe Tifa needed that extra year of growth to feel the way he did. Maybe he was being a coward... "You're the most important person in my life... you understand, right?"

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa's heart thudded so loudly, she felt sure that he must be able to hear it. "Cloud. Of course I do."

He might still be a little shy, but his words gave her courage. She slowly closed the distance between them, her lips touching his.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud felt himself smile a little at the feeling of her lips on his. It had felt like this the first time, and when he'd told her how he felt in his time, but the fact that the missing year of time meant nothing and that she still felt that way was the icing on the cake.

Returning her kiss with a little more confidence than usual, he curled his arms around her, holding her close and tight.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa leaned into his embrace, kissing him back with an intensity born of their forced separation. It was so good to have him back.