Chapter Text
January 8th - Wednesday - 11:43 PM - Edge
The streets of Edge were dark and Yuffie was thankful for it.
Usually, if she were to visit Cloud and Tifa, she arrived in a bit more style. She liked to burst through the doors of Seventh Heaven at peak hours. To have Tifa welcome her like family and give her a seat at the best spot at the bar. To eat and drink for free, to the envy of the less special patrons.
Even better if she could make Cloud give her a ride in from wherever she was coming from. The request always seemed to bring him equal amounts enjoyment and irritation. Fair enough, Yuffie did enjoy irritating Cloud. The motorcycle never seemed to make her quite as sick as other forms of travel, and she liked to use the time on the road to think of ways to embarrass him upon arrival.
Like yelling, Help! I’m being kidnapped, just as they pulled up to Seventh Heaven. Or reminding Cloud loudly and publicly as they walked through the doors, Hey, when you give me a ride, don’t forget I’m downwind. Just because I can’t hear it, doesn’t mean I can’t smell it!
She made sure that Tifa and the kids had been present for that one. The way Cloud stuttered in denial had been wholly satisfying and a fart joke was always a hit with Denzel and Marlene. Besides, Cloud would not retaliate too badly in front of his family, though he always seemed to get his vengeance one way or another.
No, this time, she was approaching Edge quietly. Silently, actually. Befitting for a ninja, even more so for a spy. Nobody was supposed to know that she was here, and nobody would.
Yuffie crept into the alleyway. By foot, it was far from the most convenient entrance to Seventh Heaven or Cloud and Tifa’s home. Nobody ever used it, except for deliveries or if someone, usually Cloud, was parking in the garage.
It was inconvenient, but it was less visible than the other entrances. Yuffie approached the garage door and tucked herself against the side of it, into a shadow. Even if a neighbor looked into the alley, nobody would see her there. She was dressed in dark clothes with a hood to hide her face and hair.
She pulled a phone out of her pocket. It was a light, basic phone. Not her usual one. She would toss it out somewhere discreet after. She dialed Cloud. It rang. And it rang.
Yuffie dialed again. The hour was late, but not too late. She knew the kids would be asleep, made certain of it in fact. But surely Cloud and Tifa would still be awake.
No answer. She tried again.
When her third attempt to call Cloud failed, she dialed Tifa instead. After only two rings, she answered. It figured. Yuffie was not sure why she even bothered trying Cloud first.
“Hello?”
Tifa sounded breathless and more than a little concerned.
“Tifa, it’s me.”
Tifa’s voice was muffled for a moment, as she moved her mouth away from the phone to speak to Cloud.
“It’s Yuffie.”
Yuffie cringed at the loud use of her name and bristled at Cloud’s irritated groan. There was rustling as Tifa again settled the phone against her ear.
“What is it? Are you okay? Is everything alright?”
“I’m fine,” Yuffie said quickly. “It’s just that uh –”
“What is it, then? Why are you calling from this number? Are you sure everything is alright?”
Yuffie had not said that. She said she was fine. Everything, however, was far from alright. This was far from the hard part, and still she was having a hard time. Cloud and Tifa were her friends. But this was business. And nasty business at that.
“Hey, Tifa. This is weird, but I’m outside. In the back. Can one of you let me in?”
“Here?”
Tifa’s voice was alarmed. She did not wait for Yuffie’s answer but started talking to Cloud. Her voice was muffled as she again covered up the phone, but Yuffie could still hear Tifa’s urgent directing and Cloud’s reluctant griping.
“Cloud’s coming down to let you in, okay? See you in a sec.”
With that, she hung up the phone.
Cloud took long enough to open the door that by the time he arrived, Yuffie was shifting uncomfortably in the alleyway, fingers hovering over redial on her phone. But soon she heard clanking as Cloud undid the locks to the garage. She cringed at the mechanical grinding of the doors.
As soon as the opening was wide enough, Yuffie ducked inside. The inside of the garage was bright and so she stepped out of view, in case anyone was watching. There was a moment of silence, and then the grinding of the garage doors started back up as they closed again.
Yuffie prepared her usual wide grin and turned to face Cloud.
He did not look happy to see her. His hair was a bit of a mess, which was saying something for Cloud. He was wearing drawstring pajama pants and an inside out tee shirt. The look on his face was grumpy, even for him.
“Eh heh,” Yuffie chuckled nervously. “Sorry, were you guys asleep?”
Cloud gave her a sour look.
“No, we were not.”
Huh. Oh. Whoops. So much for starting out on the right foot.
Yuffie shifted from side to side uncomfortably, trying to look appropriately abashed. After all, she did drop in unannounced, close to the middle of the night. Cloud watched her awkward dance for a moment, before sighing and gesturing toward the stairs.
“Come in, then. Tifa’s making tea. There will be food too, I’m sure.”
He did not have to ask her twice. Yuffie dashed up the stairs of the garage, ignoring Cloud’s sullen plodding behind her.
The house was dark, though Yuffie could see the soft glow of a nightlight coming from the hallway upstairs. The door to the small office that connected the house to the bar was open as well, letting in more light from the room beyond. Yuffie crept through cautiously and was relieved to find that the blinds on the windows to Seventh Heaven were all closed.
Already, the tea kettle was whistling. Tifa had set out a plate of assorted baked goods at one of the booths. They were misshapen, falling apart a bit, probably because it was something the kids helped with. Still, Yuffie knew it would be tasty.
Tears stung her eyes. She loved being here. No matter how much Cloud pretended to gripe, she was always welcome. Tifa fed her. Cloud stayed up late with her, to play cards or joke around. She slept on the sofa, she slept on a cot in Cloud’s office, she slept on a trundle bed next to Marlene. It was her second home.
Get it together, Yuffie. She shook herself as Tifa came into view, holding mugs.
“Yuffie!”
Tifa put the mugs down hastily to wrap her arms around her. Yuffie sank into the embrace. Tifa always gave the best hugs.
“You’re really alright?”
She asked the question without letting go. Yuffie nodded into her shoulder.
“Yeah, really. I am,” she said. “I just, uh. I needed to talk to you guys about something.”
Tifa pulled back, frowning. Cloud’s dubious voice chimed in from the doorway.
“In the middle of the night?”
He had one eyebrow raised. Tifa was watching her with concern, but did not see too disturbed. They were used to shenanigans from Yuffie. Likely, they expected her to say something ridiculous, that only she would deem to be urgent. They seemed ready to humor her, as they always did.
But this time was different.
Yuffie straightened her shoulders. She was nearly twenty now. Close to as old as Cloud and Tifa had been, when they first fought Sephiroth and saved the planet. Yuffie was not the same teenage kid she had been back then. She worked for the World Regenesis Organization. Yuffie had responsibilities, even a bit of power.
She worked in espionage, gathering intelligence. And she had information. Information, and orders.
“Yes. It’s important. Can we sit down?”
At her serious tone, Cloud and Tifa exchanged a long look. It was a look Yuffie could not quite read. The two of them had their own, silent language. Sometimes, it made being around them intolerable. A little lonely too. Luckily, Yuffie was comfortable enough around them to demand their attention.
Today, though, she patiently waited them out.
Tifa tilted her head at Cloud, and he sighed, turning away to face Yuffie. He gestured to the closest table.
“Sure,” he said. “Let’s sit.”
Yuffie and Cloud slid into opposite sides of the booth. Tifa was moving back toward the bar, where she had previously abandoned the mugs.
“Something to drink, Yuffie? Tea? Hot chocolate?”
Very badly, Yuffie wanted the hot chocolate. Tifa always kept the good stuff stocked. And she made fun toppings for the kids. Homemade whipped cream that she sprinkled with cinnamon or crushed candy or sprinkles. It was the best.
But it seemed like it would not be the best choice for being taken seriously.
“Tea, please. Thanks,” she said instead.
Tifa gave her a look, but did not comment. With a shrug and a smile, she stepped behind the bar to fix their drinks. Cloud and Yuffie did not talk. She could feel Cloud studying her. The contemplative thump of his fingers as he drummed them across the tabletop.
After a moment, Tifa slid three steaming mugs onto the table and sat down next to Cloud. All three were teas. Cloud frowned at his and Yuffie swallowed a smug smile. Likely, he had wanted a hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles as well.
“So,” Tifa prompted, blowing on her tea. “It’s something important, then?”
That knocked the urge to smile right out of Yuffie. She wrapped her hand around her mug and stared down into it. Wished desperately this was just another night at Cloud and Tifa’s. They could play cards or tell old stories instead.
Where to begin?
“You heard about the research facility,” Yuffie started.
They both nodded.
“Yeah,” Tifa said. “It’s all anyone around here has been talking about for days. Beneath the Shinra building, right? The videos they took are everywhere.”
The videos really were everywhere. And they were shocking. Needles and surgical tools. Tables with restraints. Large glass containers, remnants of mako still clinging to their sides. Still inside more than one of them, were the corpses. Just barely recognizable as human.
Throughout the entire facility, the equipment was labeled with the Shinra Electric Power Company logo, clear even in the darkened videos. Though it had been years since Shinra’s downfall, the videos reignited an old anger that had never truly been extinguished.
Shinra had committed grievous crimes. Crimes that the world was still learning the true extent of. Crimes for which no one had really, truly, ever accounted for.
Cloud was shrugging, unimpressed.
“I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. It’s Shinra. An underground research facility. Experiments on humans. It’s exactly like them.”
Despite his apparent nonchalance, Yuffie knew him too well not to hear the frisson of tension in his voice. More than most people, Cloud knew what Shinra had been capable of doing to people. The lines they would cross in the name of power that masqueraded as science.
Tifa shifted closer to Cloud and Yuffie could tell by the way she slid her arm under his that they were holding hands beneath the table. It seemed to calm him. For now, anyways.
“Right. Well. People are angry about it. A lot of people.”
Nobody at the WRO had slept well in ages. Reeve was running ragged. Yuffie served as his eyes and ears. All she did was bring him bad news. Of whispers. Brewing unrest. In turn, Reeve put out fires. Made excuses. Fielded questions. The main one being, why hasn’t anyone been punished?
The crisis of Geostigma had passed. Without a more immediate threat, there was time to ruminate on the past.
Doubts and distrust were creeping in. How could they move forward with a new world, a new government, if they could not address what had previously gone wrong? The people were finding it hard to believe in a promise of more just world, when there were still those among them who had not yet faced justice.
“I know,” Tifa agreed. “Around here too. It almost feels like old times.”
Old times. That was exactly what this was all about. But Yuffie was not quite there yet.
“I’m sure you also heard about the man who was killed in Edge last week,” she said.
Cloud and Tifa looked at one another, surprised at what seemed to be a shift in topic. Then, they both nodded. Tifa’s voice was somber when she answered.
“Yeah, it was awful. His family came home and just found him. No leads or anything. They’re saying it was just a random act of violence. It was all over the news.”
What Yuffie knew, was not all over the news. Nor was it publicly known that there were other instances like it, more of them than she cared to admit. It was one of the many things that had been keeping Reeve and his allies awake at night.
“It wasn’t random,” Yuffie replied. “He was a scientist. Used to work for Shinra.”
“For Hojo?” Cloud asked, his voice harsh.
Yuffie shook her head. “No. He was a botanist, studying plant ecologies in urban settings. Before Shinra fell, he was working with a team to develop gardens on the ground level of Midgar.”
There was a pause as Cloud and Tifa processed the information. After a moment, Yuffie continued.
“But, yeah. We think he was targeted. People are angry. They want to see someone punished. And innocent people like him have been getting hurt.”
Another pause.
“Innocent people,” Cloud repeated. “There have been others?”
Cloud’s voice was flat. An old familiar intensity was returning to his eyes. It was easy sometimes these days to forget who and what he was. Tifa and the kids had softened his sharp edges. He was gentle and devoted to them, sweet and often silly.
With Yuffie, he was like an older brother. They fought and picked at each other all the time, but he would still give her a ride whenever she asked for one. Would listen seriously to her when she asked for advice, even offer a grudging hug or kiss on the cheek when she was especially down.
But Yuffie was not here to be a little sister or even a friend. And as soft as Cloud could be with his family, he was also fiercely protective of them. Any threat to Tifa, to the kids, and it would quickly become apparent that his edges and strength had never actually been dulled.
And he was clearly beginning to sense a threat.
He was not wrong. Yuffie swallowed hard and nodded.
“There have been others. Scattered around – Kalm, Junon, Edge, Costa del Sol. All ex-Shinra employees. They’ve been random enough that nobody has really made a connection, but we’ve had an eye on it for a few weeks now.”
“Shinra employed thousands,” Tifa said, shaking her head. “Surely nobody thinks they all deserve–”
“Who’s behind it?”
Tifa gave Cloud a look as he cut her off, but did not comment on it. Better than Yuffie, Tifa knew Cloud’s moods and tendencies. Tifa balanced him out like nobody else could. But for now, she just watched him, quietly holding his hand.
“We don’t know yet,” Yuffie admitted. “But it’s part of a bigger pattern of unrest. It’s more than just an individual, or a singular group. And it’s not just ex-Shinra being targeted. Last week, a WRO office in Junon got vandalized.”
Cloud’s eyes narrowed. There was tension in Tifa’s face as well. Though neither of them said anything, Yuffie could read the question in their faces easily. What do they want?
“They want justice for Shinra’s crimes. They want the WRO to do something to address the past. They want somebody to be punished.”
“So many people got sucked into Shinra’s corruption,” Tifa said softly. “They can’t all be punished.”
Yuffie nodded in agreement. “Not all of them, no.”
Cloud was losing patience.
“What’s this about Yuffie? Reeve wants us to help?”
His tone was skeptical. He knew that Yuffie had not shown up like a thief in the night to try and recruit them to the WRO. Cloud and Tifa were friends to the cause, though they refused to be officially affiliated. Reeve knew he could count on their help if things ever got dire, but everyone knew better than to treat Cloud like the mercenary he had once been.
Cloud and Tifa’s peace was well earned. It was to be respected.
Yuffie hated this.
“No,” she said. “He’s been working on it. Plans have been in motion for some time now.”
And now the plans were coming to fruition.
“Reeve appointed a team. One without major ties to Shinra. Legal experts, scientists, representatives from different communities. They were recruited by the WRO but they’re an independent operation. They’re meant to do an unbiased investigation. One the people could trust.”
“To what end?” Tifa asked.
“To report on the extent of Shinra’s crimes. To decide which merit prosecution. And to decide who should be prosecuted for them.”
Cloud scoffed.
“Do they really need a special team and investigation to arrest Rufus? Seems like that could have been taken care of ages ago.”
“It’s complicated,” Yuffie hedged.
“It usually is when money’s involved.”
Yuffie supposed that was fair enough. Rufus had given money to build Edge and fund the WRO. The money had been desperately needed, but rumors surrounding his financial support were one of the many reasons why trust in the WRO was shaky. And why an independent investigation had been so important.
“The tribunal will be announced publicly soon. Like, in a couple of days soon. And then the arrests will start. Money or not, Rufus will be one of them. And the Turks.”
“All these years later,” Tifa said.
Her voice was neutral, her face calm.
But Cloud was done waiting for Yuffie to get to the point. He pulled away from Tifa and flattened both of his hand on the table, leaning forward towards Yuffie.
“Yuffie. You didn’t come here in the middle of the night, sneaking around through the back, just to tell us that Rufus and the Turks might get arrested. Tell us why you’re here.”
Her throat felt dry all the sudden. Yuffie took a gulp of her tea, which was still piping hot. It was bitter and burned all the way down. Intensity was rolling off Cloud. His eyes, flashing with mako, drilled into her. Yuffie looked away from them to Tifa. Her face was blank. Patiently waiting for her to go on.
Somehow, she felt like they already knew where this was going.
“They’ve uncovered plenty of Shinra’s offenses over the course of their investigation. Exploitation. Human trafficking. Medical experimentation and torture. But as they investigated, it became clear that Shinra were not the only ones who had transgressed.”
“Avalanche,” Tifa said softly.
“Avalanche,” Yuffie confirmed. “They started investigating Avalanche. An extremist branch of it. Accused of murder. Terrorism. Most of its members deceased.”
“Most,” Tifa murmured. “But not all.”
Tifa was nodding, her eyes thoughtful. But Cloud was shaking his head.
“Avalanche fought against Shinra. I thought that was the goal here. To finish taking down Shinra,” he protested.
“No, Cloud,” Tifa said slowly. “That’s what Avalanche wanted. This is different. This is supposed to be about justice, right Yuffie? A reckoning. A righting of the wrongs.”
Her words made Cloud wince. His face as he turned to look at Tifa was incredulous.
“What wrongs, Tifa? Shinra was behind half of what Avalanche was accused of. Mako Reactor 1. And everyone knows that the plate in Sector Seven was Shin–”
“Everyone doesn’t know, Cloud.”
Yuffie’s voice was miserable. Cloud’s head whipped back toward her, and the look on his face made her regret saying anything. But she had to keep going. This was it. What she had come to say.
“They don’t know. And there are conflicting stories between those were living in the slums and those on the upper level. So, they’re investigating. And they feel they have enough to start making arrests. Soon.”
Tifa had her eyes fixed on Yuffie and still, she looked calm. Accepting, even. There was not even a hint of accusation or anger in her kind, beautiful face. Somehow it was worse than Cloud’s growing agitation.
But Yuffie bit back her discomfort. She held Tifa’s gaze. Tifa was her friend. The closest thing she had to a sister. Yuffie had risked herself, her job, Reeve’s job, the tenuous stability of the WRO, just for a chance to give this warning. And to give them time.
“Tifa, they’re going to press charges against you and Barret. You’ll be arrested. Put through a trial. Reeve is sure of it.”
Tifa only nodded.
“What about me?”
Cloud’s voice was strained, rising in volume. Yuffie shook her head.
“No. Not yet, anyways. You were never officially a part of Avalanche. The case against you isn’t as clear. But I wouldn’t count on them leaving you out of it for long.”
“So, what then?” Cloud snapped. “Reeve sent you scurrying in the dark to do his dirty work? Break the bad news?”
Yuffie flinched.
“Cloud,” Tifa said, reaching for his arm.
But he shook her off. He was fully upset now. Angry. He had a right to be, Yuffie supposed.
“Reeve is devastated it turned out like this. He risked everything by sending me here. If anyone found out, it would be a disaster. Things are unstable enough as is.”
“Thank you, Yuffie. For coming.”
The soft words came from Tifa. Her stillness and composure were a stark contrast to Cloud’s agitated energy. He was trapped in the booth next to Tifa, and it suddenly seemed too small to contain him. His hands were gripping the edge of the table, his muscles twitching.
“Thank you?” he shot at Tifa.
Tifa ignored him.
“What should we expect, Yuffie? What happens next?” Tifa asked.
Yuffie sighed.
“Like I said. They’ll publicly announce the tribunal soon. And they’ll go for Shinra first. But once those arrests happen, it won’t be long. Restorations of the old garrison in Junon are almost finished. That’s where it will all take place.”
“It had to be Junon.”
Tifa’s voice was light, but falsely so. Cloud’s eyes were drawn to her, devastation cracking through his barely contained fury. He was seconds away from snapping. Yuffie rushed to finish telling what she had come to share.
“You don’t have to go through with it,” she said quickly. “There’s another option.”
That had both of them sitting up straighter, eyes on Yuffie. She wavered under their undiluted focus. Resigned brown eyes, blinking slowly, ready to listen. Intense blue eyes, glowing with mako, desperate for an alternative.
“You can go to Wutai. You’ll be granted political asylum. Wutai and Avalanche have been allied against Shinra in the past. They’ll frame this as unjust persecution. As long as you stay there, you’d be safe. Nobody would fight it, they won’t risk another war.”
Tifa’s head was tilted as she listened to Yuffie, but her eyes looked distant. Her mouth was a hard, thin line. Cloud turned away from Yuffie to look at Tifa, searching her face. He did not seem to like what he saw.
Cloud no longer looked like a hardened, dangerous warrior on the edge of snapping. He had a helpless look in his eyes. The look of a man whose entire heart was at risk of destruction, held in purgatory by the stubborn set of a woman’s mouth.
“You have time to think about it,” Yuffie told them. “But not much.”
Tifa did not look at Cloud.
“We’ll discuss it,” she said.
“Will we, Tifa?”
The question came out rough, but Tifa’s voice when she replied was uncannily calm.
“Of course we will, Cloud.”
“Seems to me like you’ve already made up your mind.”
Tifa was looking at Cloud now, and the energy that crackled between them was tangible. Yuffie flattened her back against the booth, as if it were possible to give them more space in their current close quarters. She chewed her lip anxiously.
It could be unbearable to be around Cloud and Tifa when they were especially happy with one another. You might as well not exist. And sometimes they made you wish you did not exist. Cloud could even manage to embarrass Cid when he was in the right mood.
But Cloud and Tifa angry with one another was worse. It made Yuffie feel like a small child. Mom, Dad, please don’t fight.
Yuffie’s phone buzzed. She shrunk as Cloud and Tifa’s attention was drawn back to her again. No matter. The buzzing meant that Yuffie’s time here was up. She had dropped her information like a bomb and could now flee, like a coward.
“I have to go. Nobody can know I was here. Be careful. Act normal. You aren’t being watched yet, but you will be. Be cautious with your phones. Don’t say anything you don’t want someone overhearing.”
“And Barret?” Tifa asked.
“Same deal for him,” Yuffie said. “But I can’t get to him in Corel without being obvious. And it isn’t safe to call. Cloud will have to fill him in when he heads that way tomorrow.”
“I thought we weren’t being watched,” Cloud objected.
Yuffie attempted her usual, smartass grin. It felt shaky and unnatural on her face.
“I’m always watching!”
Her declaration fell short of the teasing bravado she had been going for. Tifa at least smiled weakly in response. Cloud’s face was unresponsive, stony. It pained her, but Yuffie did not have time to try and make amends. And even if she did, she was not sure what else she could say or do.
Tifa slid out of the booth and Yuffie stood with her. She let herself be pulled into another hug, though she did not feel that she deserved it. She squeezed Tifa tighter than she might usually have.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, Yuffie. You’ve done everything you can. Go. Be safe, okay?” Tifa replied, squeezing her back, then releasing her. “Cloud, will you let her out the back?”
Cloud burst from his seat without looking at either of them, heading out of the bar area and toward the garage. Yuffie hesitated to follow, looking to Tifa for reassurance. But Tifa had her back turned to Yuffie, occupied with clearing the nearly untouched tea and pastries from the table.
Yuffie tried not to drag her feet as she followed. Tried not to wonder if this miserable meeting would be the last time she spent here, in the home Cloud and Tifa had so painstakingly built. She avoided eye contact with the photos of family and friends, the children’s drawings covering the walls.
When she got to the garage, Cloud was also avoiding eye contact. His arms were crossed, a muscle twitching in his jaw.
“I really am sorry,” Yuffie burst out, awkwardly.
None of this was what Yuffie wanted. When she had started working for Reeve and the WRO, everything had seemed so simple. They would rebuild the world. Make it a better place than it was before. A more peaceful, more just place than the one that had been poisoned by Shinra’s corruption.
Now nothing felt simple. Even fighting Sephiroth had been easier.
“You and Tifa will think about it?”
The question came out pathetically. The voice of a kid rather than an adult. A government operative? A seasoned spy? No, she was just someone’s sad kid sister. Begging the real adults not to be mad at her, to fix everything and make it right.
Cloud’s sigh was ragged. He uncrossed his arms and ran a hand across his face.
“Yeah,” he said.
He offered Yuffie an unenthusiastic, outstretched arm. Reluctant as the offer was, Yuffie took it gratefully, hugging him around the middle and pressing her face into his shoulder. He patted her upper back twice before gently pushing her away. Cloud would not say it, but Yuffie knew that meant he at least somewhat forgave her.
“Go, Yuffie.”
Cloud kept the lights off and lifted the garage door manually, avoiding the noise of the mechanical gears. Neither of them said goodbye.
Yuffie ducked through the narrow gap. The dark alleyway that Yuffie exited into was exactly the same as before. It was the same familiar alleyway where she had teased and jabbed at Cloud, as he threatened to toss her off the back of his bike. One she was always happy to see, because it meant she would soon be enveloped by Tifa’s hug, the children’s enthusiastic greetings, and the welcome warmth of Cloud and Tifa’s home.
But now the emptiness of the alleyway felt stark and forlorn. As the garage door closed behind Yuffie, there was a finality to it. The end, it said. That brief happy time was over.
Yuffie fled into the night.
The silence in the bedroom was heavy.
Tifa watched as Cloud’s eyes landed everywhere but on her. The window that was open just a crack, letting in moonlight and cool night air. Tifa’s vanity, crowded with pictures and assorted treasures the kids had gifted her. The bed with its rumpled covers, a cruel reminder of the happy night they had been having before.
Tifa sat on the edge of it, her hands placidly in her lap. Cloud’s jaw worked as he fixed his eyes on the floor next to the bed. Tifa could read a thousand thoughts and emotions behind his stoicism, the empty look on his face.
When Cloud was like this, Tifa knew she had at least two options. She could be gentle with him. Give him his space or carefully coax him into talking to her. It was an approach that generally worked, but it took time and patience.
Time was something they might not have much of. The other option was faster, but messier.
She could give him a little push.
“Your shirt is inside out,” she said.
Cloud’s eyes snapped to Tifa. Out of the mess of emotions that rippled across his face, irritation was the easiest for him to act on. He glared at her and tore the shirt off, tossing it aside and striding to the opposite end of the room.
Tifa waited him out a moment as he paced.
This part could be hard for Cloud. To disagree with Tifa, to argue with her. Their arguments were rare, but sometimes they were necessary. And like their feelings for one another, they were often intense. Bursts of emotion followed by tenderness. Brief moments of discord, after which they came together even stronger than before.
Cloud sat down on the bed with enough force to jostle Tifa. He was at its foot, back facing her. He rested his elbows on his legs, hunching over.
“What can I even say, Tifa?”
“You can say what you want, Cloud. What do you think we should do? Do you really think running away to Wutai is an option?”
“Don’t you think we should at least consider it?”
His question lacked conviction. It was against either of their natures to run. Tifa could tell it pained him to even entertain it. But for her, he would.
“No, Cloud. I don’t.”
Her words seemed to simultaneously relieve and anger him. Running was not an ideal option, but the alternative was bad too. Helplessness was not a state that suited Cloud.
“We can’t go to Wutai,” Tifa said, keeping her voice gentle but firm. “We both know it. I won’t run away from this. And I won’t turn the kids into fugitives. They deserve better than that. I won’t take them away from their home.”
“You’re their home, Tifa.”
His voice had a crack in it that nearly had Tifa reaching for him, but then he continued, his voice stronger with the force of his anger.
“At least we’d be together, right? Don’t we deserve that much? Isn’t that what we fought for? Forget Reeve. Forget the WRO. After everything don’t we at least –”
“Stop it, Cloud.”
Tifa cut him off. He had been rambling, his emotions getting the best of him.
“You don’t mean that,” she said. “Besides, you know it isn’t true. We fought for a better life. But we also fought for a better world. A more just world. That’s what we deserve, what the kids deserve, don’t you think? A world that doesn’t hide the past but learns from it.”
Cloud’s back was stiff, and he was still, but Tifa could tell that he was listening.
“I’ve done bad things, Cloud. I had my reasons, but I won’t deny it. I’m not afraid to own up to it, to face the truth.”
At that, Cloud finally looked at Tifa. His eyes were hard, angry. Tifa had expected it. They were in an impossible position and none of their options were especially good. But what surprised her was that she could tell it was not just the situation that angered him. He was angry – furious, in fact – at her.
“You’re mad at me.”
The words came out smaller than Tifa intended. The anger on Cloud’s face wavered and he turned his head away brusquely, unable to look at her.
“Why?” she asked.
Now he rested his head in his hands. When he spoke, his voice was muffled into them, a painful mix of fury and despair.
“Because I know you, Tifa. You’re worse than me, sometimes. There’s always been a part of you that felt like you deserved to be punished. Tell me it’s not true. You can’t, can you?”
Cloud did know her. She could not, in fact, tell him that. Tifa was brought back to a long-ago moment with Cloud, when his arms had been hunched over a bar rather than on his knees. Tifa had been hunched over too, staring hopelessly into a glass between her fingers.
I know we have to think big if we’re going to make a difference. But not like this. I just…I feel trapped. The bombings. The unintended casualties. All of it had been eating away at her. As now, Cloud had seen it then. Had seen her. If it feels wrong, he had said. Don’t do it.
But she had.
Cloud was breathing heavily into his hands, the muscles of his back taut. The anger warned Tifa to stay away, but his pain made it impossible to comply. Tifa shifted onto the bed and crept to its foot, behind Cloud. He felt her approach, but did not move.
Carefully, Tifa pressed against him. Kissed the back of his neck. Tucked her face between his shoulder blades. Wrapped her arms around him from behind. Whispered against his skin.
“I’m not giving up, Cloud. You know me. I’m still going to fight. This battle is just a different kind than what we’re used to.”
Her words seemed to reach him. His hands dropped from his face and landed on Tifa’s arms, pulling them tighter around his stomach. They sat like that for a moment, Tifa listening to Cloud’s heart thudding against her ears, his breath ragged as he fought for control over his own emotions.
“I know you will,” he said finally.
His voice was less angry, but still tense.
“But I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, Tifa. How I’m supposed to fight this.”
“We’ll figure it out, Cloud. We have to. Things are different now. We can’t fight the way we once did.”
“Sometimes, I wish we could.”
Tifa understood the sentiment, but she chided him all the same.
“What would you do, Cloud? Destroy the WRO? Kill every member of the tribunal?”
Cloud was turning in her arms to face her, his eyes blazing with the same intensity as before. But though the strength of it was the same, the emotion behind it was different. It was a look Tifa was well familiar with, and she was ready for it when Cloud pulled her against him, his fingers digging into her back and his mouth dipping to her neck to find skin.
“Yes,” he said. “If I had to.”
The violent intent of his words was not real, Tifa knew. But the violence of his feelings for her was, and that was what drove him now as he pushed her back against the unmade bed. Tifa clung to him as she fell, pulling him atop her, her sudden need for him seizing her just as abruptly as Cloud’s sudden burst of passion.
Arguing was one way they had learned to work through tensions between them, but this was just as effective.
Cloud’s mouth found hers and they were right back to where they had been barely an hour earlier, before they had been interrupted. Before, they had been slow and playful, taking their time undressing, teasing with their hands and lips. This had a different urgency to it, the necessary clothing shoved aside, Cloud’s fingers digging into her thigh as he hitched it higher, her hands frantic against his back, nails pricking into his skin.
Different than before, but just as sweet. No matter how many times they made love, it always felt different and new. It would never be enough. But the two of them, the way they felt together, that was always the same. Familiar.
Familiar, Cloud’s lips and teeth on her neck, his hair woven between her fingers. Familiar, the friction between their skin and the rhythm of their bodies as they moved together. Familiar, the soft words of encouragement and her own name in her ear as she tensed, arching off the bed. Familiar, the way Cloud shuddered then collapsed, his body wrapped in her arms and legs.
Unfamiliar, the way he rolled off of her and onto his back, pinching the bridge of his nose and blocking his eyes with his hand.
“Fuck, Tifa.”
Unfamiliar, to hear him curse. Unfamiliar, to see him cry.
Tifa reached for Cloud’s hand and brought it to her face. She kissed his palm, kissed his fingers. Twined their hands together and rested them on his chest, curling against his side. Eventually, his other hand dropped and tangled into her hair.
“We’ll be okay, Cloud.”
He did not reply.
Tomorrow Cloud would leave on his planned trip to Corel, which now had a different agenda. Tifa would get the kids ready for school and pretend that everything was normal. Watch the news with a more careful eye than before. Discreetly research legal counsel in between customers at the bar, of which she knew almost nothing about.
But for now, her and Cloud held each other with a bit more strength than they usually might. Even as their breathing slowed, neither of them loosened their grip or drifted off to sleep. Tifa recalled another night, their first together, when she had dreaded the morning and bargained for just a bit longer in Cloud’s arms.
It had been a good bargain, she figured, this life and this happiness that had been hers in exchange for all the suffering she had endured. But now it seemed she would find out what it was that would be hers, in exchange for all the suffering she had wrought on others.