Chapter Text
Cloud Strife was afraid. After the return of Sephiroth two years ago and the emergence of Deepground in the year past, Cloud's fear had finally pushed him to stop dilly-dallying with Tifa Lockhart, the pretty girl from Nibelheim. One confession and kiss later, they were a couple much to the surprise of their friends who had assumed they had already gone past that point. Despite his own self-doubt, he knew that he adored her and he showed it. From quick pecks on the cheek before he went off for deliveries to surprise hugs when they were alone, he was doing his best to show that he cherished her. Because of that, things between them were good. Sadly, that didn't last as the year went on. Slowly, she seemed to dim with every chaste touch of their lips, a wordless chill taking over as he felt her push him away. His arms around her weren't enough. He had become a stranger to her again. He knew she wanted more.
But he was just starting to reintegrate himself into their lives. He still hadn't regained Denzel's trust completely. Or Marlene's. Or even hers. He could hear the relief in her voice when he returned home no matter how short his time away. Feel the tightness in the hugs of the children as if they were trying to keep him from leaving again. He still wasn't good enough. And he knew that he hadn't been trying enough. But maybe if he kept at it, they would all see. He cared. He always did. But what if he made a mistake? Their feeble trust in him? Gone again. Maybe for good this time. He would take it slowly, he decided. Rushing into it would only make things worse.
Pulling into Seventh Heaven's driveway, Cloud comforted himself with the knowledge that their bond as a family had survived worse. Especially his and hers. Tifa had always been there. From the destruction of their hometown to saving the planet and starting a family together. But he had disappointed her before. Left her alone so that he could wallow in his self-pity and anguish before giving in to a slow death. But she had helped him. Their friends had helped him. Their family did. So it was his turn to repay them.
Setting the kickstand down on Fenrir and making his way into the building, Cloud resolved to greet his lady love with the best smile his normally stoic face could muster. Hoping to find her crouched behind the bar, he realized that she wasn't there. So he checked every other area of the house. Her room? His? Denzel's? Marlene's? Gone. He waited the entire day, thinking that she was just off somewhere. An unannounced trip around the city. Eventually, Barret returned after a day with the kids. Cloud asked him and Barret didn't know a thing, looking just as confused as the blonde swordsman. Mind reeling, Cloud set off again on Fenrir, roving the entirety of Edge and even parts of Midgar's ruins. It was only when Cloud returned home late that night that he finally got his answer. One of their neighbors had seen her leave early that morning with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder.
"How was she? Was she alright?" asked a concerned Cloud, exhausted and stained with dirt from his frantic search.
A shrug. "I thought she was crying."
With those words, Cloud knew what that meant. Once again, she was hurt. And once again, it had been his fault. But she wouldn't be coming back this time. He wasn't going to be forgiven. Why would she forgive him?
She realized she deserved better. Better than him. Better than a puppet, he could almost hear Sephiroth say. She would come back for the kids. For their friends. But him? Never again.
One month later…
"Hey," the man groaned. "Are you open?"
Cloud walked up to Seventh Heaven's locked doors and flipped the sign to "Closed" before he stomped back into the recesses of the now unlit Seventh Heaven. With a frustrated sigh, the customer left. "Screw you, dude. Where the heck is Tifa?"
Cloud murmured to himself. "Gone."
With Tifa, this place would be packed. With Tifa, this place would be teeming with the smell of fresh food and the sound of laughter. Without her, this place was just a shell. A blank space. One of his own making. Things had been fine for the first two weeks. Supplies were high. The food and drink flowed easily. The money did too. But food and drink didn't last forever. With that, so did the people and then the money. Soon, his friends had become concerned. Not a peep out of their home for half a month. Barret came first. After Cloud explained himself and what had happened in the year since Deepground, he stormed out. In their AVALANCHE days, Barret would have yelled at him. Cussed him out. But now, the larger man simply regarded him with a look of pity and disappointment before leaving in his truck. Since then, he had only come back to take Marlene and Denzel out, sending in voicemails over his PHS that he was planning to do so. When Barret came, Cloud didn't protest. Still, the large man didn't spare him a glance. Cloud was fine with that. He couldn't even look in the mirror.
The day after Barret, he was helping Marlene and Denzel with their school work. It was on that rainy day that Yuffie came. Barret had told her what had happened. What Cloud had said. Seeing that Tifa truly was gone, the ninja bawled her eyes out. In trying to hand her a glass of water, Cloud had made a mistake. Yuffie pounded his chest before shoving him away and leaping through the window she had entered through. He stared blankly at that window for what felt like eternity before the children pulled him away and back to their tear stained papers, having realized that their mother-Tifa-was gone.
Last week was Cid. Coming simply out of pure concern at learning Seventh Heaven was so quiet, Cid was aghast upon seeing the sorry state of the bar and its inhabitants. Upon his friend's explanation, the pilot could only muster a short insult.
"You're a damn fool," Cid growled, lighting a cigar as he trudged out of Cloud's home.
The blonde simply nodded.
Soon after, Vincent, Reeve and Red XIII paid their own visits to the bar. They were more even tempered compared to previous visitors, the only balm to Cloud's wounded spirit. Vincent had simply nodded before leaving. Red XIII offered a simple, mournful howl and a look of sympathy before speeding off into the night. Reeve had stayed for a short while with Cait Sith to entertain the children, placing a comforting hand on the broken man's shoulder. "It'll be alright," said Reeve before he left like all the rest.
Another week passed. Things got worse. Cloud could see Denzel and Marlene growing hungry. Whatever little was left of their income was drying up. Cloud hadn't made a delivery in the month since his lover's disappearance. Now his children grew thin. They had only eaten lunch yesterday. He didn't know what else to do or who else to call. He was desperate. He thought it hopeless. Until he remembered her. She was the only person left he would trust with his kids as he dialed her number on his PHS and made the call.
"Hello?" intoned the motherly lilt of Elmyra Gainsborough with a smile he could hear. "Cloud? It's been a while."
"Hi, Elmyra," came his reply of thinly veiled weariness. "It's about Denzel and Marlene."
"Oh, yes, what about them?"
"If you're still living in Kalm, could you please take them for a week? Please…" he whispered, almost begging.
"Of course," she said. "May I ask why?"
"I just need to make a few deliveries," whispered Cloud as he remembered over forty requests made to Strife Delivery Service, over half of which were perishable goods that would expire in the next week. "Just a few."