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When his eyes open, they are met with an unfamiliar ceiling, similar to the men’s sleeping cabin, yet smaller and with more pipework. He frowns as his foggy mind begins to stir from slumber. Then Tifa nuzzles against his shoulder, and it all comes flooding back; their silent confessions beneath the Highwind, followed by their decision to make the most of what may be their last night together.
Pure elation swells his chest and spreads through his body, like a balloon inflating with hot air. He might actually levitate.
Cloud gazes down at the beautiful woman nestled under his arm, and he can’t believe his luck. After a lifetime of self-doubt and consistently failing to be a man he deemed worthy of her, it transpired that she wanted him anyway. And not the pretence he’d thrown up, but the real him that she knew lay hidden within. Tifa found him. Tifa saved him.
He gently sweeps the curtain of ebony hair from her face, marvelling at her peaceful expression, full lips slightly parted, long lashes fanning her cheeks. Her features pull into a sleepy frown as she turns her face into his chest.
“Just a little longer,” she mumbles, further entwining their limbs. “Let me enjoy this.”
A quiet chuckle rumbles in his throat, his whole body humming with pride.
“Sure.” He covers the hand resting on his chest with his own and settles down to snooze. But a small grin spreads across his face when his mind wanders straight back to the previous night.
Being intimate with Tifa had surpassed all fantasy. He had often imagined her touch, but underestimated how his skin would sing in response. He’d dreamt of her contented sighs, but hadn’t expected the involuntary shivers they produced when breathed into his ear. Cloud had revelled in learning the shape of her, the feel of soft silk smoothed over toned curves. She was a patient teacher, as always, showering him with wordless praise as he strived to satisfy her every need. The tenderness in her garnet eyes, open and warm and no longer withholding secrets, had dissolved something inside of him. A weight he’d carried in his chest for as long as he could remember. She had given him a taste of freedom, made him feel lighter than air.
Cloud laments the lost time they could have had. And now their time is up, both of them shackled by their compulsive need to face Sephiroth, and not only for themselves, the fate of the Planet depends on it. Even if, against all odds, they manage to defeat him and stop Meteor… what will it cost them?
This might be the last time they’ll ever be together.
With that thought, the weight settles right back on his chest and Cloud subconsciously holds Tifa closer. He has so much more to fight for now; a lifetime of moments like this.
Just as he starts to think they should make the most of this morning as well, the aircraft’s engine jolts into life, startling Tifa awake.
“Cid must be back,” Cloud surmises. “Maybe the others too.”
Tifa gives him a panicked look, “We should get up.”
She disentangles their limbs and rolls out of the single bed in only her underwear, rushing to grab her discarded items of clothing. Cloud finds himself transfixed as he watches her scramble to get dressed. He snaps out of it when she tosses his pants at his head with an exasperated “Cloud!”
It’s a struggle to get dressed quickly in the small space, but they’re pretty much done when a knock at the door makes them freeze.
Tifa clears her throat, calling out, “Hold on a sec-”
But the door opens anyway and Cloud darts quickly behind it.
“Hey Teef. I’m back. Did ya miss me?” Yuffie bounds into the small cabin room and dumps her backpack on the bed opposite Tifa’s. Cloud prays she doesn’t turn around and see him barely concealed by the door.
“Yuffie! I said, hold on. I’m… uh… still getting dressed,” Tifa protests, though she only has her gloves left to put on.
Yuffie brushes her off, steamrolling ahead as usual. “Ya look dressed to me! And this is my room too ya know! Anyway, look what dad gave me when I left Wutai this morning!”
The young ninja dives into her rucksack and brandishes an orb of summon materia.
“That’s nice!” Tifa replies, overly chipper and unable to decide whether to fold her arms or rest them on her hips.
Yuffie pauses, suspicion creeping into her tone. “Aren’tcha gonna ask what summon it is?”
“Oh, right, sure, what is it?”
“Hmm… What’s got you all flustered, huh?”
“What do you mean? I’m not flustered!” Tifa does a terrible impression of a natural laugh. Cloud would slap his hand to his face if he wasn’t worried the motion would catch Yuffie’s attention.
“Fine! Keep your secrets. I’ll leave you to get dressed,” she says, making air quotes, and finally, she leaves. Cloud almost exhales in relief.
But then she sticks her head back through the door, saying, “Oh and don’t let Cloud forget his shoulder thing, k?”
Tifa’s face falls as she looks down at Cloud’s pauldron on the floor by her feet.
And then Yuffie’s gone and they hear her evil cackle echo down the corridor.
Tifa and Cloud grimace at each other as she hands him the offending armour.
“Ugh… she’ll have told the whole ship before we even get to the cockpit,” Tifa groans.
“Yep.” Cloud nods grimly, clipping the pauldron into place on his shoulder.
He’s not sure how to feel about that. It’s not ideal. He dreads the barrage of teasing they will be subjected to, if Barret doesn’t swing for him first that is. But at the same time, if they should somehow survive the day, then… well, he would like them to continue down this road, and the rest of the group would find out about it sooner or later.
The thought crosses his mind that, maybe, Tifa hadn’t been thinking about a future when she asked him to stay the night. No, that’s wrong. He knows the depths of her feelings now. If they have a future, she made it clear she would want to spend it with him. They didn’t verbalise anything, but it was all in her eyes, her lips, her touch. He couldn’t have misread that… right?
“Well, let’s get this over with,” Tifa sighs, pulling on her gloves and holding the door open for him.
She looks crestfallen as they walk down the corridor, and it irritates Cloud that her bubble of contentment has already burst. He was enjoying seeing Tifa smile again, and knowing he was the cause. Bitterly, he considers hiding Yuffie’s tranquilizer stash, so she’ll have nothing to soothe her motion sickness on their trip to the Northern Crater.
When Tifa catches his gaze, he takes her hand and stops them in their tracks.
“Does… it matter… what they think?” he asks, cocking his head to the side.
Tifa laughs awkwardly and looks down. “Well, it’s just… embarrassing,” she admits.
“Yeah,” he agrees, shrugging slightly. He wants to say more, to put her mind at ease, but once again, the words fail him.
When she meets his eyes again, she smiles and bites her lip thoughtfully. “But no. I suppose I don’t care what they think.”
Cloud looks away, trying to bite back a smug grin. So, they’re telling everyone that they’re… a thing?
When he has himself under control, he takes her face in his hands and says, “Good.”
Then he kisses her without a care in the world who might see.
When they walk into the cockpit, hand in hand, Cloud is fully braced for some taunting. True to form, a wolf whistle from Cid announces their entrance.
“Here’s the happy couple!” Cait Sith cheers as they walk past.
“About damn time!” Barret hollers.
Red prowls forwards and sits on his haunches. “We were considering an intervention.”
“Were we really that obvious?” Tifa asks, her voice despairing.
“Yeah, you guys made me wanna puke!” Yuffie agrees, miming putting her fingers down her throat. A gesture she clearly regrets instantly when her motion sickness kicks in again.
“Really?” Tifa’s face is glowing like a tomato at this point, and with a mortified glance at Cloud, she covers it with her hands. Cloud scratches the back of his head, completely unsure of how to handle this sort of situation.
“Congratulations.” Vincent’s low voice sounding from close behind makes both of them jump.
“I just can’t believe it took you so long to tap tha-”
“Hey, watch yo mouth Cid!”
“What? They were obviously sweet for each other-”
“Ok enough,” Cloud interrupts, before Tifa spontaneously combusts. “We have a big day ahead of us, so let’s get going.”
“Roger that!” Cid yells, turning to his pilot, “Let’s go teach that asshole you don’t fuck with the Planet!”
With the team’s attention back on the mission, Cloud gently pries Tifa’s hands from her face, “Hey…”
She smiles at him weakly and the pair head over to the window as the aircraft begins to move. At which point, Barret appears behind them, draping an arm over each of their shoulders.
“Ya know, uh… all we’re tryin’ to say is, we’re real happy for you two. All of us.”
He smiles at both of them, in that soft way that Cloud is starting to see more frequently. Tifa touches his hand, still flustered, but beaming when she thanks him.
“Thanks. Um, means a lot,” Cloud tells him with a nod. And it does. He’d yearned for this kind of approval from Tifa’s dad for so long. This almost feels the same.
When Barret leaves them, Cloud turns his attention towards the approaching Northern Crater. He covers Tifa’s hand on the railing with his own, more determined than ever before that they will succeed today and all live to tell the tale. He can finally see a future for himself, a good one, and he’s going to fight for it with everything he’s got.